Women At War: Sexual Violence In The Us Military

[dalsingh101]

Helena Merriman reports on a woman whose experience of sexual assault, while serving in the US Air Force in Afghanistan, turned her into a campaigner for the welfare of service women.

Marti Ribeiro was born into a military family.

Her grandfather and father were both in the Air Force - and all her life she had wanted to join the armed forces.

After she finished school she joined the Air Force Reserves and a few years later, in March 2003, she was deployed to Iraq.

While she loved her job as a public affairs specialist, from the time she arrived she was routinely harassed and called Air Force Barbie.

"I had no idea how difficult it would be," she told the BBC World Service.

"My father, who is a retired military colonel, thought the world of me for joining the military.

WOMEN AT WAR

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are the first in which tens of thousands of women have fought alongside men for prolonged periods. This week the BBC World Service is taking an in-depth look at women's stories from the front line.

"I never saw the personality traits in him that I saw in the military - I never saw what I was getting into."

In 2006 she was Afghanistan, in 2006.

"You're supposed to carry your weapon at all times in a combat zone," she said.

"But I put my weapon down and walked away to smoke a cigarette and that was when I was attacked."

She was then dragged behind some power generators and raped.

"If I had kept my weapon maybe I would have been able to prevent it," she says.

"But if I had used it I would probably have ended up in jail."

She went to the authorities but they told her that if she filed a claim, she would be charged with dereliction of duty for leaving her weapon unattended in a combat zone - an offence for which you can be court-martialled.

So she kept quiet and the man who attacked her went unpunished

"It would be my word over his and they are not going to take my word over his," she said.

When she returned from Afghanistan, she did not talk to anyone about what happened. She says she felt it was all her fault.

'Heartbreaking' phone calls

Congressional leaders, who have been holding hearings this month on sexual assault in the armed forces, say that more needs to be done to tackle what recent studies indicate is a widespread problem.

Once you have been raped in the military you are most likely to be raped over and over

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez

In 2003, in a survey of female veterans conducted by the University of Iowa, funded by the US Department of Defense, 30% of the 500 female veterans interviewed reported an attempted or completed rape.

Equally worryingly, the Department of Defense estimated in its 2009 annual report on sexual assault, that around 90% of rapes in the military are never reported.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, who sits on the Military Personnel Subcommittee, successfully lobbied last year for the development of a Sexual Assault Database to encourage accountability within the Armed Forces.

"There are plenty of phone calls that come into my office of alleged assault of women by our military men," she says.

"They are heartbreaking. Some women don't want to go public with it, some have gone public with it and they've been drilled out of the military.

"I'm told that the statistics are that once you have been raped in the military you are most likely to be raped over and over."

She says that not enough prosecutions are happening and that while the Pentagon is taking it more seriously, big changes still need to be made.

"Why is it that when a woman alleges rape, the outcome shows that the man who supposedly did this was demoted or moved to another unit? I want to know why this is happening!"

Predators

Dr Kaye Whitley, Director of the US Department of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (Sapro), says it can be very hard for victims to report a sexual assault.

"We do know that being sexually assaulted takes a great human toll on an individual and there are all kinds of barriers to keep people from wanting to come forward," she says.

More and more commanders are referring these cases to court martial

Dr Kaye Whitley, Sapro

One of these barriers, she explains, is that after someone has reported an assault in the US military: "Their command knows, everyone in the unit knows, and it affects 'unit-readiness'."

For this reason there is now a new "restrictive reporting option" so that victims who are afraid of reporting an assault can get the medical care and counselling that they need, without their command having to be notified, and without having to participate in an investigation.

For those who do decide to report a sexual assault, Dr Whitley says the crime is taken seriously.

"We are finding that more and more commanders are referring these cases to court martial," she says.

"One of the things that one of our leaders recently said is that we want to get so good at prosecuting these guys that if there's anybody walking around out there that's a predator, they'll think that the military is the last place they want to end up.

"So we are working very hard on that, we think we can do better," she says.

'Cultural change'

The writer Helen Benedict has been looking into sexual violence in the military for a number of years, and has recently written a play on the subject. She has heard from women whose experiences have ranged from disrespect, to constant sexual harassment, to rape.

"There is a culture that if you report someone, you are seen as a weak soldier who failed to defend yourself," she says.

But she says this does not mean that women should not be serving in the army.

"It is the men who are committing a crime who have a problem. The military has to deal with them and not punish women by shutting them out from this career," she says.

Ms Benedict says that economics may help to bring about the cultural change that she says the army needs.

"The recession means more women are joining the military then ever before. So as women become less of a minority and rise in the ranks and get more power, hopefully the culture will begin to shift," she says.

Meanwhile, Marti Ribeiro is now trying to tackle the issue politically.

She is part of the Service Women's Action Network, which lobbies to improve the welfare of US servicewomen and women veterans.

"This is so that if once my daughter is eligible she turns to me and says 'I want to do what you did,' I can support her," she says.

"But if she asked me right now I would say No."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8511010.stm

Edited February 16, 2010 by dalsingh101

[kdsingh80]

The west is experimenting men and women soldiers side by side so these kind of things are going to happen.

The soldiers of all countries are known for cruelities,

rapes plundering.One cannot expect high character from soldiers

[Dharma]

I am not surprised by this either. Though the victims are not women, read about dedovshchina (rule of grandfathers) in the Russian army. Serious brutality.

[HSD1]

Every army has its brutality regime, and if it doesnt then the army probably isnt worth having. Having said that, at least the yanks accept there is a problem and are facing it down. I think any progressive state will have to allow women to serve on the frontlines.

Edited February 17, 2010 by HSD

[kdsingh80]

I think any progressive state will have to allow women to serve on the frontlines.

Do you really think that women should be allowed to serve on the frontline? Developed countries like USA can do it because they have very advanced weapons but what about countries like India.If a regiment of Indian women soldiers is captured by brutal jihadi 's

then one can expect that they will become their sexual slave's

[HSD1]

I wasnt talking about single sex units, but a full mix. If a woman can pass all the physical tests and is a real patriot and wants to shoot the enemies of her nation, I dont really see the problem. We men need to get off our high horses and treating women like delicate little flowers. They are our equals, and should have the same opportunities as us men.

[kdsingh80]

I wasnt talking about single sex units, but a full mix. If a woman can pass all the physical tests and is a real patriot and wants to shoot the enemies of her nation, I dont really see the problem. We men need to get off our high horses and treating women like delicate little flowers. They are our equals, and should have the same opportunities as us men.

Even if a unit is mix and it is captured by brutal enemies then first thing they will do is to rape the

enemy women for fun,pleasure and to humilate the enemies.

Equality does not mean that they do things which men then they are equal.as far as physical standards are concerned women can hardly match the physical standard of men ,that's why we don't have unisex sports.An army has to lower its standard for women.

[dalsingh101]

Every army has its brutality regime, and if it doesnt then the army probably isnt worth having. Having said that, at least the yanks accept there is a problem and are facing it down. I think any progressive state will have to allow women to serve on the frontlines.

Sure, any military training system should be tough as heck but I think frequently a sadist mentality becomes manifest in these types of institutes that doesn't serve any purpose other than feeding into a human sickness. A bit like some prison guards or cons turning sicko and making life hell for others for their own twisted satisfaction.

These soldiers aren't usually being jerks for enhancing training, but rather because they are a bit deranged. Look at the strange shite that was happening at Deepcut here in the UK for a homegrown example. I wonder if Israelis have this type of stuff in their military? Probably not, but they can still flex it hard on the field.

As for sending a daughter on the frontline - hell no! Whose gonna make the chappattis then, huh? (I'm just messing before the feminists come for me!!)

But seriously I'm not too keen on this whole 'progressive' thing a lot of the time. Sure, girls should be trained to judh, but they are better as a home guard rather than on the frontline. KDS has a point about how enemies might use captured female soldiers, especially in conflicts that are a bit under the media radar. Seeing as soldiers are well known for slapping the missus about, it isn't hard to imagine worse under tense war situations.

Edited February 17, 2010 by dalsingh101

[HSD1]

Even if a unit is mix and it is captured by brutal enemies then first thing they will do is to rape the enemy women for fun,pleasure and to humilate the enemies.

Well, if they do that then they open themselves up to the repercussions of the war crimes.

Equality does not mean that they do things which men then they are equal.as far as physical standards are concerned women can hardly match the physical standard of men ,that's why we don't have unisex sports.An army has to lower its standard for women.

But if some apply and do reach the same strict requirements as men then I dont see the problem. Those who cant make the role can be used in auxillary roles.

[dalsingh101]

But if some apply and do reach the same strict requirements as men then I dont see the problem.

That'll be some butch ass sister I tell you! lol

We should put her to stud sort of thing!

[HSD1]

Sure, any military training system should be tough as heck but I think frequently a sadist mentality becomes manifest in these types of institutes that doesn't serve any purpose other than feeding into a human sickness. A bit like prison guards turning sicko and making life hell for the cons for their own twisted reasons.

These soldiers aren't usually being jerks for enhancing training, but rather because they are a bit deranged. Look at the strange shite that was happening at Deepcut here in the UK for a homegrown example. I wonder if Israelis have this type of stuff in their military? Probably not, but they can stll flex it hard on the field.

You will find the 'sick f***' types in many communities and even more so in the army. You cant really go on and on at these lot for being themselves, but you can set clear boundaries. One of which is not raping someone in your own side.

But seriously I'm not too keen on this whole 'progressive' thing a lot of the time. Sure, girls should be trained to judh, but they are better has a home guard rather than on the frontline. KDS has a point about how enemies might use captured female soldiers, especially in conflicts that are a bit under the media radar. Seeing as soldiers are well known for slapping the missus about, it isn't hard to imagine worse under tense war situations.

The kind of women who meet the frontline standard arent going to be shrinking violets, thats for sure. Looking at how butch some of them are I think it may be the men who need to end up watching out!

Edited February 17, 2010 by HSD

[dalsingh101]

The kind of women who meet the frontline standard arent going to be shrinking violets, thats for sure. Looking at how butch some of them are I think it may be the men who need to end up watching out!

hee hee hee

You know she'd have you!!

[kdsingh80]

Well, if they do that then they open themselves up to the repercussions of the war crimes.

Almost all countries in this world are guilty of war crimes.Hardly any country take action against their army .So there is hardly any chance of repercussions

of war crime

[HSD1]

Almost all countries in this world are guilty of war crimes.Hardly any country take action against their army .So there is hardly any chance of repercussions

of war crime

I wasnt talking about repercussions from their own side but from the enemy. Look at our own history, when our enemies became more and more vicious, we simply upped the ante. When we eventually won, it made our victory even more righteous.

[dalsingh101]

I wasnt talking about repercussions from their own side but from the enemy. Look at our own history, when our enemies became more and more vicious, we simply upped the ante. When we eventually won, it made our victory even more righteous.

We were blessed to have God sent saviours. Or God knows, we might still be getting it now. It isn't like righteousness alone saved Aboriginals or native indians! Others can't count on that.

Edited February 19, 2010 by dalsingh101

[cul]

kdsingh80

You argue that women shouldn't be allowed to fight because they may be raped? You expect war to be risk free?

Hell, let's ban the men from joining up, they may get shot don't y'know.

[laalsingh]

We were blessed to have God sent saviours. Or God knows, we might still be getting it now. It isn't like righteousness alone save Aboriginals or native indians! Others can't count on that.

1.We are always blessed. Important word here is 'righteousness', leave saving to Him, who sends saviours.

2.One who deserves to win, will win. In the war, it is effort on our part, to be tyar bar tyar and be better warrior.

Both views look contradictory, but are not (for Khalsa). History is full of winners, but Khalsa has to be winner for the sake of righteousness.

[kdsingh80]

I wasnt talking about repercussions from their own side but from the enemy. Look at our own history, when our enemies became more and more vicious, we simply upped the ante. When we eventually won, it made our victory even more righteous.

repercussions from enemy not always happen.Look at history of islam They attacked ,destroyed many culture's and religions but they hardly face repercussions. Even in our case We won and able to strike back only for 150 years after the creation of khalsa, after that we are almost constantly losing and are unable to strike back

[kdsingh80]

kdsingh80

You argue that women shouldn't be allowed to fight because they may be raped? You expect war to be risk free?

Hell, let's ban the men from joining up, they may get shot don't y'know.

cul

Do you think that society give choice to men to work or join army.Whether they want it or not but they have to join army and defend their country O/W they are not at all considered as man.

Also what I am saying is applied by most of the armies in the world .Even in 1948 when israeli women were serving in army and israel was in great danger of being occupied they banned women from frontline combat

because of similar reason what i am saying

[HSD1]

Well men are in danger of getting raped by the enemy as well, so this discussion is pretty academic, especially as there is no Khalsa sarkar.

[kdsingh80]

Well men are in danger of getting raped by the enemy as well, so this discussion is pretty academic, especially as there is no Khalsa sarkar.

Rape is still a crime mainly committed by men on women.In India I don't think I ever heard even a single person is punished for raping a man while thousands of men are punished for raping women.