In September 1993, Katie Weber joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17. Six months after joining, Katie was given her first set of orders as a soldier and made her way to Germany. Eventually she ended up on a unit in Nuernberg-Fuerth, Germany. On her first week there, she was told that she would need to purchase a hot plate and pots if she wanted to cook for herself. But having not received her paycheck yet, she had no money with her. Her Staff Sergeant took her to the finance office to talk to the specialist there about her paycheck. While at the specialist's office, Katie made some small talk with the specialist, and had felt that she had truly made a new friend.
That very same evening, people from Katie's unit invited her to attend an event at a club in Nuernberg-Fuerth. The same financial specialist was there, alongside his wife. After about an hour since the specialist arrived, the specialist asked Katie to come outside with him in order to talk about her paycheck. There they walked up a fire escape on the side of the building for three stories. Katie then began to sit on a step, and was then stopped by the specialist, who began to kiss her. As Katie resisted, the specialist turned her around and spread her legs apart, and forced himself on her. Throughout the incident, Katie was unable to breathe as the man had her bent over the iron railing, which pressed against her diaphragm.
Katie then found an opportunity to break free from the man and run down the fire escape stairs to safety. But just then, the man grabbed her and threw her on the stairs. Katie then made an attempt to climb over the railing to get away, but the man then pushed her, and Katie fell down three stories and regained consciousness a few minutes later. She ...
... middle of paper ...
...arged from the Army. Katie claims the lieutenant in charge of fitness testing at her unit altered her recorded weight and height measurements in order to exceed standards, so that the lieutenant could discharge Katie from the Army.
In conclusion, it can be seen that social injustices run rampant in our society even today. This is especially the case in the military. Many members of our military are sexually assaulted, but higher ranking officers refuse to do anything about it, which blatantly goes against their responsibilities as higher ranking officers. Such inaction eventually leads to the victims of these sexual crimes to experience PTSD, depression, and various other complications. Therefore it is society's duty to stand up for victims of sexual assault in the military and speak up against military officers who refuse to do anything about these sexual crimes.
In 1996, Captain Derrick Robinson, Sergeant Delmar Simpson, and Sergeant Nathanael Beech were arraigned for their suspected involvement in one of the biggest sex scandals the United States Military had seen. According to CNN, between these three men, charges of rape and adultery were pending in a huge case of sexual misconduct against female soldiers at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland (CNN, 2996). Following this incident, the United States Military took it upon themselves to open a telephone hotline to encourage the reporting of similar harsh crimes. Furthermore, the spike in reporting influenced extensive research to examine the prevalence of rape against women soldiers in the U.S. Military (Titunik, 2000). This paper will explore the dynamics of rape against women soldiers in the military and the research done on its prevalence.
Military records show over 20 percent of female veterans have been sexually assaulted (Ziering and Dick The Invisible War). As well as being assaulted, these women are then told no further action will be taken. 33 percent of military women do not report their sexual assault because the person to report to was a friend of the rapist (Ziering and Dick The Invisible War). Those who do come forward are punished for making such allegations. As the film continues, it begins to show overwhelming evidence of lack of punishment for the offenders....
Before 1951, the Army and Navy operated under laws derived directly from the British Articles of War in force prior to the Revolutionary War (Pound 2002). In those days, soldiers and sailors possessed few rights. The old system enforced discipline rather than justice. Punishments ranged from execution, flogging and hard labor with ball and chain. The changes began. In 1850, the Navy outlawed flogging. After World War I, the three levels of courts were introduced and continue to this day. These are the general, special and summary levels, applied according to the seriousness of the charges. The crucial time was World War II when 2 million martial courts were formed at a ratio of nearly 1 for every 8 American soldiers. These courts executed more than 100 servicemen and imprisoned 45,000. The Uniform Code of Military Justice was created by public demand and outcry. President Harry S. Truman signed the legislation on May 5, 1950. It was praised as the fairest system of military justice in the world (Pound).
The common story from victims who report being raped, according to a Military Rape Crisis Center worker, is that they were “met with disbelief and skepticism, blamed for the crime, and disposed of one way or another,” (Kitfield). Until the military stops re-victimizing the victims it will never be able to completely eradicate rape from the ranks.
Women are often victims in war in several circumstances. One of the victimizations The more extreme victimization of women occurs through gender violence while in service as a soldier. In the United States, the film The Invisible War recognizes that over one fifth of serving women experienced sexual assault and there is nearly no justice system to combat this. One man had raped several women in the service, but still was able to receive congressional medal of honors for his actions and bravery (The Invisible War).
Since even before the United States has been classified as a nation, African Americans have served in armed forces. From a little village militias to the army or sailors, African Americans have stepped up to help defend and eventually earn their own freedom. The battle for unification and for recognition of black soldiers has been a slow undertaking. It wasn't until after World War II that the U.S. armed forces became fully and lawfully unified, under a 1948 executive order by President Harry S. Truman. They were “unified”; meaning that the African American troops could be in the same regiments and squads as the white men. Previously they underwent completely separate training and were assorted to their own regiments. Throughout time many groups of enlisted black men have made up the hammer which broke down the racial barriers which were all too common up until about 45 years ago. All of this had to start somewhere, which leads me to the Revolutionary War.
... The General Accounting Office concluded in a hearing on May 8th 1999 that combat inclusion is the greatest impediment to women attaining higher military rank. Until qualified women are given access to assignments that are central to the militaries mission, they will be marginalized. Sexual harassment is a huge problem
Article 120, UCMJ, is rape and sexual assault generally. The manual for courts-martial provides a very detailed and informative definition of what Sexual Assault is. The goal of this article is not to regurgitate that definition for you, but simply to make you aware of some of the common themes and similarities seen in past military sexual assault cases, provide some clarity on the two reporting options and finally to make you aware of some of the resources available to you in the event you become a victim of sexual assault. Many military sexual assault cases share two prominent characteristics; the consumption of alcohol and lack of clearly given consent. The unfortunate and tragic truth is sexual assaults still occur within our ranks. However, we can mitigate our chances of becoming a victim by educating ourselves, being aware of common themes and staying proactive in the prevention of this despicable crime.
Sexual assault in the military has become one of the most controversial of all issues that have been discussed over the years. The topic has received extensive media coverage and has contributed to multiple media scandals. According to a Newsweek report done in 2011, women are more likely to be assaulted by fellow soldiers than killed in combat. The Department of Defense estimates approximately 19,000 sexual assaults occur per year amongst military personnel. That number is stifling considering that in the last year only 1,108 troops filed for investigation, and of those only 575 cases were processed. Out of the 575 processed cases only 96 went to Court Martial. Obviously from the numbers, sexual assault is a serious issue in the military. Much like in the civilian world there is bias when it comes to the guilt or innocence of the attacker, as well as the validity in the accounts of the accuser. I believe that the system in place may inadvertently contribute to the continuous rise in sexual assaults and that if this system isn’t fixed quickly, it will be detrimental to the organization as a whole. Sexual assault has seriously negative impacts on service members and their families. That impact carries over to their work, limiting mission readiness, and undermining national security.
Sexual Assault in the military has become an uprising problem. Within the military community, the term sexual assault carries a meaning that includes everything from violent sexual acts such as rape and forcible sodomy, to assault with intent to commit rape, unwanted sexual touching or attention and being a witness of the crime and not reporting it. Although most believe those who commit such heinous crimes are usually a person or persons with a violent record, violence is not a prerequisite for sexual assault. Once a service member becomes a victim of sexual assault, they become much more than a victim of just the crime itself. They fall victim to their own thoughts, never being able to trust their chain of command again, jeopardizing careers
The military since the Colonial Era has been an impetus for social reform in the United States. The Revolutionary War afforded Black Americans an opportunity to escape from the toils of slavery and fight for freedom. Some Black Americans even earned their freedom by fighting for the Colonists, but still the freedom they fought for wasn’t their own. However, the military was responsible for the freedom of many slaves and some of these freed slaves became legendary soldiers like Salem Poor. His performance in battle gave credibility for future arguments about blacks being allowed to serve.
Kennedy, K. (2013, July 25). Military women say sexual assault and harassment remain. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/07/23/sexual-assaults-continue-to-plague-military/2577995/
The US Military has been one of the most powerful and respected fighting forces in the world; it is also a hotbed for sexual assault. Each year, thousands of men and women take an oath to serve and protect their country and each thousands of military service members are sexually assaulted. “Earlier this week, Pentagon officials released a new report which estimated more than 70 sexual assaults occur in the military each day. ”(Shane III) Fear of retaliation, both personal and professional, and humiliation stop many service members from reporting their sexual assaults. Those few that make the bold choice to report incidents of sexual assault often finds themselves disappointed by the outcome; assaults that do get reported have an incredibly low rate of conviction of the offender.
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 have been for many years without much effort to decrease the attacks. I am suggesting that unless the rape and sexual assault issue is fixed, the amount of people joining the military, specifically the women, will decrease greatly.
In Women in the Military, Janette Mance explores the debates and problems faced by the increasing number of women involved in the military. After examining issues such as pregnancy, sexual harassment, and rape, Mance concludes that as a society we must continue to strive for gender equality.