On March
8, 2012, The New York Times posted a comment in
their editorial section, on the lack of action that has been taken to protect American
women serving in the military, who are sexually
assaulted. According to a 2006 between 23 and 33 percent of uniformed women
had been assaulted. The author begins to explain how there might very well be
more women, and men, who are assaulted, but are crippled by fear and therefore
choose not to come forward. From there details are given of how Defense Secretary Leon Panetta claims to have a
zero tolerance policy for these types of crimes, but yet has done little more
than okay a poster to be hung, that reads: Ask her when she's sober."
I am
glad some light is being shed on this heinous crime. When women join the
military, many are looking to better themselves by fighting and serving their
country. With that being said, it is ridiculous that more has not been done to
protect them. And sadly it does not stop with sexual assault, but domestic violence,
rape, and harassment. But what are the consequences are given to the accusers?
The author explains that many are given the opportunity to just resign from
their job, without consequence. I respect the men and women of our military,
but I do not believe they are above the law, and should not be treated as such.
For women to perform well here in America, and while serving overseas as well, they must
feel safe and secure. The only way this will resonate to them is if the
government defends them in their time of need, instead of turning a blind eye
on the matter.
On blog, Wife of a Veteran, there was a post titled "Sexual Violence in the Military" that really struck a personal chord with me. The blogger talks about all the sexual assault cases that happen in the military, how most of the criminals do not get disciplined, and she points out that there are still many horrifying stories left untold due to fear. I feel the blogger is trying to tell everyone in America that these women, and men, that serve our country do not deserve this treatment, and the perpetrators must be punished.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 20 years old, I went into a Navy recruiting office ready to sign up and serve my country. During every visit to the recruiting office, my 35 year old recruiting officer, who was married with kids, would heavily hit on me and make me extremely uncomfortable. He would call me most nights to see if I wanted to go out drinking with him even though he knew I was under age. Needless to say, I did not end up joining the military. I was deathly afraid most men that would be on my ship would have the same creepy personality as my recruiting officer. It was a rude awakening for me, to say the least.
I do not feel every man in the military is a pervert or a rapist, as I know many brave and great men that serve our country right now. Having said that, what frightened me the most was how the recruiting officer would do this in front of the other recruiters in his office, and they all found it funny even though I was obviously not okay with his actions. How am I, or any other woman, going to trust these type of men with my life?
We all know rape is difficult to talk about, and Americans definitely don't want to think of their brave soldiers being capable of such horrific crimes, but this "ignorance is bliss" approach on the issue must stop.
Fortunately, there are groups fighting the Department of Defense to show the records indicating how many cases of rape and sexual assault there have been in the military. Due to the Freedom of Information Act, the Dept. of Defense should be required to share the records but keep finding ways around it. We must continue to demand this information so that we may find out just how much the military is hiding in regards to this issue. All Americans that serve our country deserve the right to feel safe and protected by our government. If not, what are they fighting for?