The Prevention Of Sexual Assault

In more than just the examples given in the documentary, reporting a sexual assault seems almost baffling in terms of procedure, both in military life and in civilian. It is a difficult enough prosses for a man or women to endure in civilian life. Just noting what I have witnessed in my time here at Georgia Southern University, it is a long, horrifying, and complex means to achieve justice, and even then, it is certainly not guaranteed. Even at the conclusion of this class, it is still difficult to grasp the blatant disregard for an entire section of the armed forces. The ones who are willing to make the huge personal sacrifices to serve their own country, when that same courtesy would never be reciprocated. As stated multiple times in The

sexual assault, the authors made a few assumptions about the knowledge of the reader. One

An American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds, and every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Only 310 out of 1,000 assaults are reported, but only 6 out of 1,000 perpetrators end up in prison (RAINN). Although sexual assault is egregious, these perpetrators are less likely to end up in prison than other criminals. The reason that is seems to be that victims do not report their cases. So why are sexual assault victims afraid to share their stories? Victims often do not report their assault because of many reasons, including the fear of reprisal, the belief that the police could not and would not do anything about the case, or because they simply did not know how to approach an official.

In the past, military news typically evolved tragic training incidents or deaths during overseas combat. However, over the last several years many incidents involving military personnel and sexual assault have made headlines across the United States. Military women and men have brought to light the lack of justice for victims of sexual assault, and the prevalence of such attacks. Questions arise as to why victims do not report incidents or seek assistance when they are physically or sexually assaulted. Many reasons are due to how the system of reporting is established within the military, retaliation and further re-victimization within the chain of command. Modifications to the current system have begun within the Department of Defense and

Start blaming the system, not the victim. Sexual assault is a crime that is very common, yet the punishment perpetrators receive is not as harsh as it needs to be to reduce the occurrence of these crimes. Laws concerning sexual crimes have been edited over decades to be stricter however, sex offenders typically receive little or no punishment. Sexual Assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient (“Sexual Assault”). Victims of sexual assault are often blamed as the reason for the crime being committed while the blame is taken away from the offender. Harsher punishment must be enacted on sex offenders because the victims suffer conflict from the crime throughout their

Throughout history, the United States Military has faced numerous scandals. From its role in the Vietnam War, to the Iran-Contra Affair, to the Iraq War, to the abuse and denial of due process rights to detainees currently held indefinitely at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; the Department of Defense has undeniably raised many questions about its ethics and treatment toward both civilians and fellow members of the Armed Forces alike. One recent scandal, which would now appear to be becoming the standard, is that of sexual assault within the military. However, due to a campaign of awareness, grassroots activism, and pressuring elected officials to do what is right, things are now beginning to change.

Women have been sexually harassed and assaulted in the work force for years, and for many years, the US Army has been dealing with this enormous and overwhelming issue, through the help of their agency known as the Equal Opportunity Program (EOP). In the US Army regulation 600-20, Army Chief of Staff, General Raymond T Odierno, States the purpose, “This regulation prescribes the policies and responsibilities of command, which include the Well-being of the force, military discipline, and conduct, the Army Equal Opportunity (EO) Program, and the Army Sexual Assault Victim Program.“ For a long time, the Army’s EOP Equal Opportunity

The purpose of this essay is to discuss the issue of rape and sexual assault in the military. The number of attacks for rape and sexual assault in the military are at an all-time high. Women have recently been allowed to fight on the front line. While this may be a huge achievement for women-kind, for this woman, it is a very scary thought. I am a junior at Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences; a school geared towards students wishing to enter the medical field. I may be forced to join the military one day if a war breaks out and women are needed to protect the country. I would be happy to serve my country if I did not have to be scared of my fellow soldiers. Rape and sexual assault are major issues in the military and

US Armed Forces is historically an organization lead by men, for men. It is comprised of about 14.5 % female and 85.5% male according to a 2011poll (CNN U.S, Jan 2014). In an organization with a rich history and legacy of obedience and restraint, it is hard to imagine the secret society of “The good ol boys”. It has been acceptable for men to “work hard, play hard”. We have all seen the movies where the men come back from overseas, invade the bars, have a good time, take a girl home, and it is acceptable behavior. What happens after they leave the bar? What happens when she says no? In November of 2013, there were 3,553 reported sexual assault cases (ABC News, 2013).

Whether or whether not women speak up, doesn’t change the fact that it is happening in the military. Women in general deal with the effects of sexual trauma, but military women may have to re-live it on a day to day basis. As quoted in the article, perpetrators are typically other military personnel, and victims often must continue to live and work with their assailants daily (para. 5). Because of the seriousness of MST, each VA hospital now has a designated coordinator to oversee MST screening and treatment (para. 5). The authors purpose is ultimately to study the VHA’S MST program. It provides the opportunity to investigate the screenings for sexual violence (para. 2). It is very important that women with MST are able to get some type of help, and medication for the after effects of the traumatic experiences they endured while in the

Sexual abuse or assault is a serious social and public health issue in the United States of America today. This includes 188,380 reports on rape and/or sexual assault in States (National Crime Victimization, 2010). Mostly, women are the victims of sexual assault and rape while men are the criminals or the offenders. National surveys in the United States estimate that on average twenty people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner (CDC, 2014). Also, it has been proven that one in six women have experienced an attempted or completed rape at some time (Clinton-Sherrod, 2005). The largest percentages of women that have been sexually assaulted have been attacked by men with whom they are related or have an intimate relationship.

It's useless to acknowledge a problem and not offer any sort of improvement or suggestions. College and Universities should be responsible for providing sexual assault prevention as well as awareness especially to freshman and sophomores since most sexual assaults happen in the first two years of college. It is important that sexual assault prevention strategies be set up in a matter where incoming students are educated as soon as enrollment is completed. Programs should focus on both prevention for women who have not experienced any sexual assault and also provide prevention to those have experienced it before. Providing accurate information on legal definitions of sexual assault, the extent of sexual assault among college women, and risk

Jodie, Hertzog & Rosemary, Yeilding; COLLEGE WOMEN'S RAPE AWARENESS AND USE OF COMMONLY ADVOCATED RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES. College Student Journal, Mar 2009.

The fact that women are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than be killed in enemy fire in Iraq and 86% of assisted female soldiers will not report their cases (Lage, Aynna. “shocking facts about sexual violence in the military”. 2017), just proves that fact the not enough is being done by the institution to ensure the safety of women against these assaults. As well as that justice is not taken seriously as “ less than a third is these cases result in imprisonment” (Lage, Aynna. “shocking facts about sexual violence in the military”. 2017). Being in the military is hard enough, to be physically and mentally fit, to literally put yourself on the line to serve your country, there is no need to feel unsafe around your

Although sexual assault cannot be fully provent, there are steps individuals should take in order to insure their safety. Knowing how to protect oneself is a way of prevent a sexual assault. For instance, self-protections such as weaponless attacking, running, and getting help are all ways to protect oneself. Many colleges offer basic self-defense courses, which would be very beneficial to all college students. It is also important for both men and women to know their limit when it comes to alcohol. Often, intoxication leads to individuals becoming significantly more vulnerable and more subjectable to assaults. Being intoxicated substantially impairs individual's judgment and inhibits their ability to fight off an attacker. While attending