My friend Mark sent me this article last week, outraged that it was "off CNN's front page within 6 hours." He wrote, "I guess we'll see how long the Pitt-Jolie baby picture articles stay in comparison."
Mark is right. Sexual assault and rape within the military is rampant, some even call it an epidemic. Adding to it is just how the assaults are covered by the media. In this article, the headline reads: Army Rape Accuser Speaks Out. Not rape victim (more favorable,) or rape survivor (most favorable,) but accuser. This type of language sets up a dynamic that forces readers to disbelieve her before even reading her story; it contributes to victim blaming and takes the focus and "fault" off the perpetrator and puts it on the survivor. Another news article's opening paragraph states, "Few problems have been more persistent or produced more bad news for the military than the issue of rape within its own ranks." Oh no! I feel so so badly for the poor military's image... Wait, no I don't. Who I do feel for are the countless female soldiers who have been sexually assaulted, raped, silenced, and even murdered. I also feel for those who have spoken out, only to be blamed, not taken seriously, and threatened to be arrested. And, it starts as early in female soldier's careers as recruitment into the military!
While looking up information regarding rape survivors who spoke out, i found these incredibly disturbing stories: [Trigger Warning]
Sharon Mixon was a staff sergeant, and a highly decorated combat medic during Operation Desert Storm. She was in Saudi Arabia, and about to come home, when she says she was drugged and gang-raped."I woke up face down on a cot. I was being held down. And there were six men taking turns raping me," recalls Mixon. "They were U.S. soldiers, and they told me that if I told anybody that they would kill me. But I went and told the MPs anyway. And they told me the same thing."
"They kind of laughed and said, 'Well, what did you expect, being a female in combat? And we will always know where to find you. And if you open your mouth, you know what's gonna happen,'" adds Mixon, who kept quiet for more than 10 years.
Mixon continued her military career until she said she began having flashbacks and was hospitalized for post-traumatic stress disorder. She has actively lobbied Congress on behalf of military rape victims.
Here's another, if you can bare it...
"They want to brush it under a rug. They want it to go away," says Marine Lt. Tara Burkhart, who comes from a military family. She was serving with distinction as a public affairs officer in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, escorting reporters in and out of the combat zone. She and several enlisted men from her unit were invited to a party thrown by Kuwaiti nationals to thank them for all they had done."During the course of that evening, the sergeant who was under my command raped me," says Burkhart, who didn't initially report it. "I was afraid. I had seen what other people had gone through when they had tried to report sexual assault or rape."
She didn't say anything, until allegations surfaced that she and her men had violated orders by drinking at the party, and that she had sex with a subordinate.
"I got my attorney. And he immediately contacted the command," says Burkhart. "'This is crazy, my client was raped.' And my command said, 'No, she's lying. We don't believe her. You shouldn't either. And we're gonna prosecute her. She's gonna go to a court-martial.'"
Lt. Burkhart was charged with 19 counts, including sexual misconduct, providing alcohol to enlisted men, making false statements and disobeying orders - charges that could have sent her to prison for 26 years.
The soldier who Burkhart says raped her was later accused in another rape. "He was accused during my investigation," says Burkhart. "The other victim came out and claimed that he raped her in Kuwait, too."
The Department of Defense states that "one in three women who join the US military will be sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military." Rape is too often underreported... i can't image an even higher statistic, but it's probable.
Why is the rate of rape in the military so much higher than that in civilians? I think this requires a multi-faceted response examining fraternal militarism, lack of support for survivors, and the history of rape used as a weapon of war. The military is probably the oldest "boy's club" there is and it becomes incredibly easy to "other" women when your ingroup is structured on masculine notions of power, strength, and dominance. This brings me to rape. Rape is an act of power, strictly. Is rape these male soldiers' only form of "defense" when their power is threatened? Obviously i'm using much more snark than i should, especially when talking about such a serious topic. I do so though because i'm imagining the troll comments i will get in response to this post, specifically the, "if women were never allowed in the military, they wouldn't be raped," and, "if they wanna be treated like the men they should be able to handle it." If you are a troll and you were thinking of writing that, don't waste your time.
But because of these attitudes female soldiers have an incredibly difficult time deciding to report, and reporting, sexual crimes committed against them. Because the military is so tight-knit people rarely want to report anything for fear of being ostracized. Combine the fear of social penalties for group betrayal with fraternal militarism and it sets up a hostile situation for any woman raped by a fellow soldier.
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) wrote a piece a few months back for the LA Times where she stated, "We have an epidemic here. Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq." Now that is scary.
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Great post!! It seems like the more I hear about rape in the military, the worse it gets. I don't know if the media is paying more attention to the issue or if I am more acutely aware of it (probably the latter), but I can't help but feel that the military continues to ignore and gloss over the issue. Our society in general still blames the victim and excuses male actions by blaming the women or a "he cant hemlp himself" mentality.
You hit on all the important aspects of rape in this community: fraternal militarism, lack of support for survivors, and the history of rape used as a weapon of war. It is the epitome of the "old boys club," which already makes it difficult for women to get in and become a member of the community.
I am glad Rep. Jane Harman spoke out, but is there anything else being done? Is there anything that can be done? The military seems to live by their own rules...
Thanks for posting this. This is a really important topic.
Is there anything we can do about this? I mean, we have regularly scheduled anti-war demonstrations all across the country. How can we call attention to this- to demand that someone take notice? How can we get a group to raise money and put ads in every newspaper?
I am full of rage. I can't just site around and blog about it. What can we DO?!
This just popped up on my local newspaper message boards.
HEADING: Soldier sex assault
QUESTIONS: Is the military a career that is best left to men? Or can women do everything as well as a man, including take care of themselves?
I am so spitting fucking mad I am speechless. If anyone would like to write a little something here is the link:
http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckForum&plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3a25f44796-f131-41b0-a0cf-b36d7a1881c3Forum%3aa72c9a95-00d3-4860-93a8-5c521350048aDiscussion%3a38f5d63d-72dc-450c-bba1-c9043de567a3&plckCategoryCurrentPage=0
Thanks for the link. I'm heading over there now to let that newspaper have my answer to their unbelievably ignorant questions.
LOL, thanks Sandi. If you were the one who left the comment, it was excellent!
My comment wasn't so tasteful and it got deleted. I will try again but no promises that I can be nice.
Thanks again!
There are people working to bring attention to this which will hopefully also bring results in changing this.
First off being anti-war isn't enough or a requirement. As a veterans involved in anti-war work militart sexual assault (MST) is often viewed as somthing not as important as ending the war or even viewed as something totally unrealted.
Even if you support the war you have reason to view this as important.
You can write and call your legislator asking that they work within thier commitees to address this.
You can help spread the word to possible military recruits about the reality that faces women recruits. Also men are increasingly tartgets of sexual assault so it is important to include that.
You can support groups that are woking to get the word out about military sexual assault and help the people who are affected by it.
Here are just three:
SWAN http://servicewomen.org/
VETWOW http://www.vetwow.com/
http://www.stopmilitaryrape.org/
Womens Media Center is hosting a panel with lawmakers that along with other important issues is covering MST.
Being online so much we can also include information on discussion boards that gets real information out, not just sexist slander.
We can include the CNN report above as well as usefull information like:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080801_sexual_assault_in_the_military_a_dod_cover_up/
http://womensmediacenter.com/ex/071808.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi9Sb5nsnAM&feature=related
http://nationalsecurity.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2125
Peace,
Jen
Oh the irony.
Militart should read militarY
thanks for posting! i always noticed these articles before and got extremely angry about it, and then when i started writing the current play i'm working on I had to actually full-blown dive into it and research it. it tore me apart. i don't think i've ever cried so much.
Jen, thanks for the links, i'm definitely going to check them out tonight.
Oh god, please help. Does anyone else have the issue that when you go to "continue reading" the post becomes incredibly wide and illegible due to overlapping sidebars? This is painful! :\
Yeah, and this makes me feel somewhat unwell, though I'd like to believe the New Zealand military is AS bad...
Actually, re: the NZ military, I remember having a discussion with some other (naval) reservists, who were all retired regulars. They were asking if I was going to join the regulars, and I was explaining that I wasn't because (a) I'm in a relationship and that just doesn't work IMO and (b) I could not stand by and do nothing if I know someone I work with is a rapist. They were all very horrified, saying that doesn't happen any more (there was a big scandal in the 80's I think it was) and I kind of laughed at them.
The guy who got me into the naval reserve rather than army territorials was in the regulars at the time... when discussing sexual assault he told me he knew a couple of guys who had rape charges up against them in Australia so they just don't get posted there.
A super lovely guy I got on really well with when I was out with the regulars was talking about how he knew some things he wished he didn't - I made him tell me a couple and that is the only time in my life I've honestly wished I hadn't heard something (pretty horrific sexual assaults on prostitutes and other civis).
I couldn't live with that. I would feel it was my obligation to kill the fuckers. :\
oh my gosh yes, PLEASE someone help with the text running over on side of the page... it's so so distracting!!!!! My post is ok but once i get down to the comments, it's impossible to read... any suggestions?
Does anyone know what the result was in this air force rape case where the victim was the only one charged: http://www.feministing.com/archives/007517.html? I have been thinking it lately and I really want to know.
There is a short piece about Cassandra Hernandez on KHOU.com. I emailed the reporter who interviewed her and asked to please continue following her case. I hope more survivors (I hate the word victim) will keep coming forward when they are raped, in the military or otherwise.
A friend of my husband's was raped by a fellow sailor the last time they were on deployment. It's a horrible situation for her, because she liked the guy and had originally consented to sex, but changed her mind. The guy she was with then forced her. Now SHE is the one facing punishment for what happened, because she originally reported it and then changed her mind and dropped charges. Apparently she's got conflicting emotions about what happened, and seems to think that what happened was somehow her fault. She still likes the guy who raped her. It's horrible and complicated. So the military is handling this as though she's made false allegations against a sailor. I think she's going to be discharged.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the most saddening part of all of this: no one in the squadron will go near her now because they think that "she'll accuse someone else." My husband has been warned repeatedly to stay away from her lest "he be next." They have gone so far as to threaten him with disciplinary action. They have branded her a liar.
Ugh. I'd like to see these rapists charged with treason on top of the sexual assault charges. What part of "don't attack troops on your own side" don't they understand?
This is such a huge and troubling problem. I interested in creating a theatre piece about this for a graduate thesis project. I'm having some problems with my profile right now, but once I get it straightened out, I'd like to hear more from those of you who have personal stories and experiences. It seems like not enough people know that this is going on and at this level.