The Military : Sexual Assault In The Military

For example, after drinking alcohol, men expect to feel more powerful and aggressive (Stanford University, 1999). This increases their expectancy of certain outcomes, especially in sexual situations. Thus, drinking alcohol may cause men to misinterpret a woman's behavior as a sign of her desire to have sex with him. On the other hand, when a woman consumes alcohol, it can cause her to ignore or miss a cue that an assault is possible or likely to happen (Antonia, 1991). Alcohol can also keep a woman from realizing that her friendly behavior is being misperceived as seduction. Studies have shown that intoxicated and sober men are inclined to misperceive friendliness as a sign of sexual interest, so this is a great danger to women (Stanford University, 1999). Alcohol consumption can also decrease the likelihood that a woman can successfully resist an assault, verbally or physically. Additionally, women become intoxicated faster than men. This occurs for two reasons: women generally weigh less and have less water in their bodies than men, so the alcohol is less diluted and has a greater impact on their bodies. (Stanford University, 1999). Women do not metabolize alcohol as efficiently as men, which makes them more vulnerable to the consequences of drinking.

Causes of Military Sexual Assault. On one hand the blame of military sexual assault is cast upon the offenders; meanwhile, on the other hand, the blame is pushed onto military heads and leaders. The military promotes an overarching characteristic of masculinity. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines masculinity as “constituting the gender that ordinarily includes most words or grammatical forms referring to males,” this definition proves that the word masculine is equivalent to being seen as manly. Within the military, “particular attitudes toward masculinity have been found to be related to heightened levels of rape propensity. Standards of masculinity that emphasize dominance, assertiveness, aggressiveness, independence, self-sufficiency, and willingness to take risks” (Morris 701). Overall the majority of military leaders and important personnel look for masculinity as the dominating trait to make a soldier and that is one of the causes of military sexual assault. With this being said, the military does not want someone who is weak; however, you will find that women are considered the “weak link” in the military. Russell Strand, of the Family Advocacy Law Enforcement Training Division claimed “Masculinity cannot be victimized, because if you are a leader, if you are a masculine person and you are victimized, then you are weak” (Strand). If a women does not demonstrate masculinity or dominance she is seen as weak and is at higher

The military has been about being a cohesive group and working together as one. Thus, many victims do not report sexual trauma because of being accused of terminating that cohesive group regardless who should be blamed. Therefore the military has an option for the victims to file a restrictive or unrestrictive report. Thus, the victim has the choice to remain anonymous in a restricted report, and receive necessary medical and psychological treatment. Or victims can choose an unrestricted report and press formal charges against the assailant, but they must disclose all of their information as well (Williams & Bernstein, 2011). This can come at a high cost to the victim if they want to press charges against their assailant. For instance some victims are prosecuted under an Article 15 for drinking or adultery for the same incident (Krul, 2008). The circumstances could impair the victim’s aspirations of making the military a career in the future. That incident could further reduce any chances of future promotions or even could result in a discharge from military service.

Veterans and active duty military personnel face unique problems and special considerations when it comes to the abuse of alcohol. There is a drinking

Military Sexual Trauma (MST), includes any sexual activity where you were involved against your will. When assessing a service member for MST it is important to use a biopsychosocial approach. Some biological or physical responses to MST may include, sexual difficulties, chronic pain, weight or eating problems or gastrointestinal problem. Psychologically, as a result of the MST service members may have PTSD or depression. They may also experience strong emotions, difficulties with memories, feeling of numbness, or trouble sleeping due to nightmares. Socially, service members may experience difficulties in their relationships. As a result of all of these symptoms, as service member may have problems with alcohol or drugs to cope with the emotions or memories they may have regarding the incident.

The values of honor and trust are the lifeblood of our military, and every act of sexual assault directly undermines those values. So too does every act of retaliation against those who report these crimes.

Research conducted by Valerie L. Forman-Hoffman, Michelle Mengeling, Brenda M. Booth, James Torner, and Anne G. Sadler (2012) on the study of eating disorders, PTSD, and sexual trauma among female veterans found that “overall, nearly 62% of respondents reported at least one attempted or completed sexual trauma during their lifetime, nearly 51% reported at least one completed rape, and an additional 10.9% reported at least one attempted sexual assault solely. Almost one-third (32.5%) of respondents reported sexual trauma during military service (24.6% completed rape and an additional 7.9% attempted sexual assault). ... In addition, about one in five (24.6%) reported lifetime PTSD diagnosis” (Forman-Hoffman, V. L., Mengeling, M., Booth, B.M., Torner, J., Sadler, A.G., p. 1164).

Sexual Assault described in technical terms is defined as any sort of sexual activity between two or more people in which one of the people involved is involved against his or her will. (3) The description of "against his or her will" extends to varying degrees of aggression, ranging from indirect pressure to a direct physical attack. While sexual assaults are associated with the crime of rape, it may cover assaults which would not be considered rape. What constitutes a sexual assault is determined by the laws of the jurisdiction where the assault takes place, which vary considerably, and are influenced by local social and cultural attitudes. Every year, an estimated 300,000 women are raped and 3.7 million are confronted with unwanted

It comes down to the fact that an intoxicated person cannot consent to sex. AR 600-20 very clearly states. “Consent is not given when a person uses force, threat of force, or coercion or when the victim is asleep, incapacitated, or unconscious”. (U.S. Department of the Army, 2014, p.71) My paper revolves around Sexual assault and what the proceedings are once aware a sexual assault happened. All actions following an assault are to be focused on what the victim wants, even if that means do nothing.

According to the National Defense Research Institute, policies and programs should be improved to increase reporting of the full range of sexual assaults, including those not perceived as sexual acts. They should expand sexual harassment and gender discrimination monitoring, prevention, and accountability practices and equip commanders with data and guidance to take effective actions. Prevention and enforcement efforts should target bullying, hazing, and other demeaning behaviors. The factors contributing to risk and prevention of sexual assault and sexual harassment should be identified. Lastly, current sexual assault training that service members receive should be assessed (Morral, Gore & Schell, 2014). There needs

Sexual assault has become a common occurrence not only in the United States, but also multiple countries across the world. In the United States, the term sexual assault has replaced the term rape in criminal statutes in the majority of the states. The main difference between these terms is rape is more specific because it refers to forced penetration in vaginal, anal, or oral regions of the body, whereas sexual assault recognizes that victims can be violated in ways that do not involve penetration (Bartol & Bartol, 2015). In sexual assault cases, the Federal Criminal Code distinguishes between two types of sexual abuse that is based on the degree of force or threat of forced used: aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse. Aggravated sexual

It is not reasonable or effective to attempt to stop all forms of sexual assault with one plan. A plan that would most beneficial in preventing sexual assault is to educate teens and adults about the consequences of participating in sexual assault. Consequences include suffering the punishment of the law but also the emotional damage associated with it. Specific forms of sexual assault that should be focused on the most are rape and molesting. All forms of sexual assault are serious and should be focused on, but these are particularly important because they often affect the victim severely emotionally and physically. Some components of my plan include educational programs that can be presented in schools and support programs for people who

     Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.

This literature review provides a brief overview of six scholarly articles and other facts about sexual assault .This review will first define sexual assault as it is defined in these articles. It will analyze the strengths and limitations of the definition used and will discuss the occurrence of sexual assault in the general population.This review will also illustrate the protective factors, barriers to recovery , impact of development and the specific sexual assault population that are absent in these articles. Sexual assault is a societal issue that impacts men and women at every age in their life, it’s much more highly reported among college aged women. The majority of women who are victims of rape are

For the purposes of this paper, sexual assault is defined as being forced to engage in sexual acts (Abbey, 2002). These acts include: “forced touching or kissing; verbally coerced intercourse; and physically forced vaginal, oral and anal penetration” (Abbey, 2002). Rape is defined as “sexual behaviours that involve some type of penetration due to force or threat of force; a lack of consent; or inability to give consent due to age, intoxication or mental status” (Abbey, 2002). The definition of sexual aggression was quoted from authors Barongan and Nagayama Hall, however they adapated their definition from authors Hall, G. C. N. and Hirschman, R. Sexual Aggression is defined as “ranging from sexually impositional acts such as telling a sexually oriented joke to someone who finds such jokes offensive, to extreme forms of sexual aggression like rape” (Barongan & Nagayama Hall, 1995).