The great majority of the men and women who join our military are truly heroes for their willingness to sacrifice everything to protect and defend the American way. A shadow should not be cast on their courage, their bravery or their honor because a few commit one of the most dishonorable and degrading of all crimes — sexual assault again fellow members of the Armed Forces, mostly the women.

Sexual assault occurs when one makes sexual contact intentionally using force, physical threat or abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent. i The following are all acts of sexual assault: Rape; Nonconsensual sodomy, whether it be oral or anal sex; Indecent assault, such as unwanted, inappropriate sexual contact or fondling; and/or attempts to commit any of these acts. ii Sexual assault is a horrendous crime that plagues all sects of our society, including the military. It is a crime both in civilian and military settings where the victim is criminalized, the evidence is non-existent or minimal at best, the victim is degraded and humiliated, and often the crime goes unreported due to shame or fear, and thus unpunished.

The military does not encourage nor condone misconduct of any nature, including sexual assault. The great majority of soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors, members of the Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserves join to serve their country with honor. The few perpetrators do not represent the military. Nonetheless, the military being a hierarchical, predominantly male, stringent environment, makes reporting a matter of sexual assault even more difficult for the victim. Military platoons are enclosed societies, riddled with gossip, so if a woman reports a rape, there is little chance her identity will remain anonymous.iii She will likely have to face her assailant day after day, and put up with rumors, resentment and blame from others. In addition, she runs the risk of being punished by her assailant if he is her superior. iv Even in civilian society, the US Bureau of Justice stated that 59% of rapes are not reported due to unsympathetic police, victim-blaming myths, and simple fear. Thus, the underreporting is part of the reason why this problem continues to be unresolved. Another part of the problem is the perception that if you tell, you are going to get punished. The assailant, meanwhile, will go free. v

Recently, DoD implemented new policy and a new position, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to help victims report the sexual assault primarily in order to get medical treatment. vi Coronel Richard said, “As we looked at the issues we were asked to confront, we realized we had to accomplish several things simultaneously. First, significantly enhance education and training to help prevent sexual assault…needed to improve our treatment and support of victims should assault occur… we need to enhance our investigative system and how we prosecute offenders.” vii Colonel Richard also stated that, “The Department [DoD] understands that our traditional system does not afford sexual assault victims the care and support they need across the board…” viii Commanders are viewed to be the critical part of this new policy, therein lies a question no one seems to be asking- what if it is the commander abusing his power?

It is simply unconscionable that any person, willing to fight and die for his or her country, would be treated in such a dishonorable and disgraceful manner. This is a crime that must be deterred, because rape and any sexual assault is not a crime of passion, but a crime of power. The comradeship, the honor, the strength of the military is attacked with each rape, each sexual assault, each sexual harassment case, whether or not it is reported.

Under the new policy implemented under the SAPR, a woman in the military, who has been victim of a sexual assault, can contact a sexual assault response coordinator (SARC) or Victim Advocate (VA). Contact Military One source 24/7 for restricted / unrestricted reporting, Local SARC/ VA Points of Contact and Established DoD Sexual Assault Services. Stateside- 800- 342-9647 / Overseas- 00-800-3429-6477 / Overseas collect- 484-530-5908. ix

The following are the facts of the potential threat women in the military face in addition to what their male counterparts are expected to endure:

* It is a simple fact that women are a growing minority in the military. In 2001, women made up 15% of the DoD forces which were 199,850. This did not include the Coast Guard which consisted of 3,538 women. Women composed 15% of Army, 14% of Navy, 6% of Marines and 19% of Air Force. x

* There is an indication that 80% of women in the military have had to deal with sexual harassment and that 30% have actually been raped. xi

* One recent study found that 23 % of women seeking treatment for depression and alcohol abuse through the Department of Veterans Affairs report that they were sexually assaulted while on active duty. xii It's hard to gauge just what this "23 percent" means because it only refers to women seeking treatment and relies on self-reporting. There is no way to verify the accuracy of such reports. xiii

* A nine-month study of military rape by the Denver Post in 2003 found that nearly 5,000 accused military sex offenders had avoided prosecution since 1992. xiv

* DoD claimed that actually 8% of women in the military were sexually assaulted back in 2001. xv At the time, there were 199,850 women in the military. Thus, 15,988 women in the military were sexually assaulted. xvi [Please see above to view what sexual assault consists of.]

*The Pentagon has examined the issue 18 times over 16 years.xvii The problem still continues.

* In a 1992-93 study of female veterans of the Gulf War and earlier wars showed that around 90% said they had been sexually harassed whilst in the military. This meant any misconduct ranging from being pressured for sex to being teased and stared at continuously. xviii

* A 2003 report financed by the DoD revealed that nearly 1/3rd of a nationwide sample of female veterans seeking health care through the VA said they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service. From this group, 37% said they were raped not once, but multiple times and 14% reported that they were raped gang raped. xix

* o 212,000 is the total number of active duty women in the military, as of Sept. 30, 2004. Of that total, 35,100 women were officers and 177,000 were enlisted. xx

o Thus based on this number from the 2003-2004 year, there were about 212,000 women in military. Even if we just consider the women who were enlisted, excluding the female officers, then according to the 2003 report- 1/3rd of the 177,000 women experienced rape or attempted rape- that is 59,000 women who actually came out and sought health care for their attack. Of the 59,000 37% were raped multiple times- that is 21, 830. Of the 59,000 14% of military women were gang raped in 2003- that is 8260.

o Even if these numbers seem too high, though they are facts, even if you divided in half, or one-third- it is still unconscionable.

How the issue of sexual assault being unresolved impacts the women serving in the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars

* In March 2007, Salon did an article “The Private War of Women Soldiers”, where stated that “Many female soldiers say they are sexually assaulted by their male comrades and can’t trust the military to protect them. ‘The knife wasn’t for the Iraqis, it was for the guys on my own side’.” xxi

* Not everyone realizes how different the Iraq war is for women than any other American war in history. More than 160,500 American female soldiers have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East since the war began in 2003, which means one in seven soldiers is a woman.

* So how does this work for women?. xxii How can a man who pressures you for sex every day, who treats you like a prostitute, who threatens or punishes you if you refuse him, or who actually attacks you, be counted on to watch your back in battle? xxiii

Sexual Assault & PTSD

* A 2004 study of veterans from Vietnam and all the wars since, who were seeking help for PTSD, found that 71% of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while in the military. xxiv

* "When you are sexually assaulted by people who are your comrades, PTSD can be worse than in other circumstances," "The people you depend on have attacked you." Said Paula Schnur. xxv

SOURCES

i www.sapr.mil Sexual Assault

ii www.sapr.mil Sexual Assault

iii www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

iv www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

vwww.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

vi www.sapr.mil/

vii www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1628

viii www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=1628

ix www.sapr.mil Reporting

x www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004600.html

xi www.dissidentvoice.org/Apr07/Zeese14.htm

xii www.defenselink.mil/new/newarticle.aspx?id=45009

xiii www.defenselink.mil/new/newarticle.aspx?id=45009

xiv www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

xv http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=45009

xvi http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004600.html

xvii www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/17/60minutes/main674791.shtml

xviii www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

xix www.dissidentvoice.org/Apr07/Zeese14.htm

xx http://www.census.gov/.../006232.html

xxi www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

xxii www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

xxiii www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

xxiv www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html

xxv www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/print.html