The US Military's Sexual-Assault Problem Essay

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

The Air Force is focusing on eliminating those barriers by providing both unrestricted and restricted reporting. Unrestricted reporting is recommended for victims of sexual assault who desire medical treatment, counseling, and an official investigation of the crime. Since June 2005, military victims of sexual assault have been offered a restricted reporting option, which allows those who have been sexually assaulted to receive medical treatment and support without automatically triggering a criminal investigation.

Throughout the world, deviant acts and social controls are committed everyday. An incredibly significant one that is often unreported is sexual assault within the military. Sexual assault is already determined as an extremely deviant act throughout the world. All acts of rape and other abusive acts should never be dismissed or ignored, but rape within the military is often not reported or recognized. If it is brought to light, the victims are generally in fear of losing their positions, rankings, homes, relationships with their spouses and families, etc…. This is not to state that men are not also victims of sexual assault, but women are much more prone and vulnerable to being attacked and harassed. I will be focusing on the female victims of military assault in this paper.

Canada’s military chief says sex assaults continue to be a problem in the Canadian Forces because, “we’re biologically wired in a certain way.”

“The most shocking cover up in the United States Military is not what you would expect (The Invisible War),” reports of sexual assaults over all branches of the military have tremendously increase every since women have been allow to take part of the military. According to the Secretary of Defense, over 500,000 male and female soldiers have suffered of sexual abuse from senior peers and commanders. During the past years, many women reported a variety of cases of sexual abuse. Sadly, the victims were only ignored, blamed and punished for the events. Sexual assaults are considered a scandalous subject which our military has decided to avoid, but by doing so, the number of rapes has increase even faster. Rape is a repetitive criminal;

In the training the soldiers of the United States Army receive they learn about the two types of reporting options that are available to the victims of sexual assault; the restricted reporting and the unrestricted reporting. The restricted reporting option gives the soldiers the option of seeking medical aid and counseling while not initiating a formal investigation. While this option helps the victim get the help they need it does not hold the perpetrator accountable for their actions. The unrestricted reporting on the other hand still helps the soldier get the medical treatment and counseling they may need but it initiates a formal investigation. A soldier who files a restricted report can later go back and change their report to a unrestricted and start a formal investigation but an unrestricted report can never be changed to a restricted report. The training highlights some of the behaviors that predators use so that you may know what to look out for. According to the Army there are no more passive bystanders it is everyone’s responsibility to intervene.

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 way we interact with each other in our Army culture impacts the way we perceive behavior in relation to sexual assault and harassment. For instance, a culture that allows discriminating jokes or demeaning behavior helps to perpetuate an environment in which sexual assaults and harassment occur. Also, a Command that fails to punish or can be perceived to fail to punish perpetrators of sexual assault can further perpetuate a harmful environment and degrade unit morale and mission readiness. When you walk away from a deficiency, you have created a new standard.

Presently women are sacrificing their lives serving this country in all branches of the military in the United States. Women are more involved in combat situations since the war began in Afghanistan and Iraq. With the increase of women in the military came the increase of sexual violence. In the beginning, very few reports of sexual violence were reported; over time the number of reported cases became a huge issue that brought awareness to those that work with the President of the United States. At that moment, processes were being looked at; changes needed to be made to find ways to give confidence to victims, to feel safe enough to report the crime of sexual violence. The Department of Defense is currently working on measures to alleviate the problem. Sex crimes on women in the military can have intense effects on their mental, physical and emotional well-being. Sexual harassment and sexual assault also extends to include

In “The Invisible War,” it is noted that “women who have been raped in the military have a PTSD rate higher than men who have been in combat” (The Invisible War, 2012). The impact that military sexual assault has on victims is tremendous. Both physical and mental trauma are common, and they play a significant role in how victims of sexual assault are able to return to their daily lives.

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 assault among our service women is an increasing issue in the United States today. The female soldiers who are being forced to endure such an excruciating and demeaning crime are afraid, like other victims of assault, to speak out against their perpetrators. In a field led by mainly men who are supposed to be protecting the citizens of this country, they are tearing down the ones around them. The term for sexual assault among service members is Military Sexual Trauma. “Any attempt of sexual activity against one’s will, whether on/off the military base, or while on/off duty, is considered MST (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2012)”.

The military has become the epicenter for rape and abuse of women, all of which military officials have swept aside with all too little concern. Case after case of rape and sexual harassment are dismissed with little to no investigation made. The women of the military live scared of their male superiors and colleagues, and what they might do. Victims of sexual harassment or rape often see their pursuers honorably discharged and returned to society with no criminal record.