Female GIs reporting rapes by U.S. soldiers

[Tinoire]

Female GIs reporting rapes by U.S. soldiers
Women say response lacking within military, some even threatened
MILES MOFFEIT AND AMY HERDY
Denver Post


Female troops serving in Iraq are reporting an insidious enemy in their own camps: fellow American soldiers who sexually assault them.

At least 37 female service members have sought sexual-trauma counseling and other assistance from civilian rape-crisis organizations after returning from war duty in Iraq, Kuwait and other overseas stations, women's assistance and advocacy organizations say.

"We have significant concerns about the military's response to sexual assault in the combat zone," said Christine Hansen, executive director of the Connecticut-based Miles Foundation, which says it has assisted 31 women.

The women, ranging from enlisted soldiers to officers, have reported poor medical treatment, lack of counseling and incomplete criminal investigations by military officials. Some say they were threatened with punishment after reporting assaults.

<snip>

Senate leaders pledged last year to investigate the military's handling of rape and domestic-violence cases after media reports of problems including flawed investigations, inadequate victim services and unusual leniency for soldier sex offenders. Congressional hearings were recommended, but none has been scheduled.

http://fairuse.1accesshost.com/news1/charlotte1.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Of course not

women are there for men's sexual pleasure. How dare they want justice! </sarcasm>

[saigon68]

15. I WONDER HOW MANY IRAQI WOMEN HAVE BEEN RAPED

But then ---they are the Enemy and Rag heads to boot</Sarcasm>

[NickB79]

35. I was thinking exactly the same thing

I recall reports earlier this year that Iraqis were claiming US soldiers were raping Iraqi women, which subsequently got shouted down by people here saying that US troops would never do such an immoral thing (apparently in their minds all US troops are Boy Scouts/Choir boys/Eunichs). Lets see, at least 37 US women, soldiers in uniform, were assaulted or raped by their fellow soldiers, and God knows how many more haven't reported it due to fear. I don't find it hard to believe at all that US troops really have raped at least a few hundred Iraqi women, based on seeing what some of them have done to fellow soldiers, who they should feel more strongly bonded to than nameless Iraqis.

[NeoConsSuck]

38. When Franks said "We don't do body counts"

do you think they were also referring to young Iraqi female bodies?

[MaineDem]

2. This infuriates me!

I certainly hope the "support for the troops" extends to these women.

Do we still live with the old-boy, nudge nudge, wink wink mentality?

[Mari333]

8. sadly yes

My son told me that when he was in Boot camp at Ft Benning, the hatred of gay men and all women was rampant. Its still the good old boys network.

[Catch22Dem]

12. Well, that's not entirely true

Its still the good old boys network.

While there is some truth to this statement, from my own experience, they're in the minority. The military has come a long way. Now, my own experience is only in the USAF in a highly technical field where the distinction between men and women was only physical. None of us cared what you had between your legs, the question was, could you do your job. I had several women working for me and oftentimes they were better workers than the fellas.

Also, a former co-worker of mine was most definitely gay. Of course I never asked him, and he never volunteered the information, but we all knew. The good news is, among the NCO corps, we would always choose this guy for the more difficult jobs. Not because we were picking on him, but because we KNEW he'd do the job better than anyone. He knew this too. He was the best Airman I had working for me.

So, while the good ol' boy network is still around, especially in Army and USMC infantry units, they're a dying breed.

[Tinoire]

16. There's a huge difference between the USAF & the USA

What you describe is how it is in the Army in the technical fields where rape is unheard of and people are prized for their brains.

The Army's tactical units are a thoroughly different story unfortunately.

[Catch22Dem]

29. Yeah I know

It's a shame. That's why I threw that little comment in there about the USA & USMC infantry. When I was in Okinawa, there was a Japanese girl getting raped by a Marine every couple of weeks. Used to piss me off so bad. Anyway, I'm not generalizing Marines here, I'm just saying something about certain pockets in all branches of service.

[Tinoire]

33. I saw that- just wanted to make it clear for everyone

The Amry and Marines are much more geared to "manly men doing mably things". It's unfortunate that they seem to consider rape one of those manly things.

Okinawa... that was so shameful. And the Chain-of-Command basically dismissed it as if it were no big deal. Argh!

[LiberalFighter]

24. Too bad you all didn't try to learn from the guy..

how to do the job better. Maybe it still wouldn't be as good as him but but enough to equalize the workload. And it would had made the group more flexible and reliable.

[Catch22Dem]

28. He was one of my best friends

We were always getting him to teach classes on electronics and avionics. He really knew his shit. No matter what though, he remained one of the best. I'm not sure if you're slamming me here, or what. We didn't pile work on the guy if that's what you mean about equalizing the workload. We just gave him the best jobs. Incidentally, they were also the highest profile jobs which worked out well for everyone. Everyone from the top down knew he was the best.

By the way, I think he's a dentist in Arizona or NM or something like that now. LOL

[Raster]

3. cut their f****ing nuts off...

...plain and simple. 99.99999% of sexual assaults are perpetrated by men. a little 'nad removal might get someone's attention.

[tinanator]

4. fucking A

I am so down with that solution. As long as the crime is not falsely reported, of course!

[Lindacooks]

10. I agree. However,

the false reporting of rape is only about 2%, the same as the false reporting of any other crime:

http://incestabuse.about.com/b/a/045270.htm

[tinanator]

13. absolutely

but given that form of punishment, some women might consider the option on occasion.

[Occulus]

14. however,

when someone is falsely accused of rape, they may as well go to jail anyway, beause they will have certainly had their life permenantly changed as a result.

[donsu]

18. after a woman is raped her life is forever changed too....................

when are men going to start policing themselves?

when are men going to stop raping women?

raping is a choice.

[Fovea]

32. It took me years

to recover my reputation from a false accusation of rape.
OTOH, If they have proof, shoot the bastard. They have plenty of guns, last I checked.

[Damn Hippie]

5. Conservatives will view this

as more evidence that women have no place in the military.

[Bunny]

7. Well, nevermind what conservatives may think.

What do YOU think?

[havocmom]

22. Sci-fi writer, Frank Herbert addressed women in the military

he had a characture who lived (and observed) for a very long time. He rules and decides the army should be comprised only of women. Less likelyhood of uncalled for violence but when it was called for, look out! Interesting idea with some merit perhaps.

[LiberalFighter]

25. Fine... let's keep the women out of the military

1) How many empty slots will there be without the women?
2) Put each conservative wacko that complains in their place.

[ConcernedCanuk]

6. Disturbing - and makes me wonder -

.
.

How many Iraqi women are being abused?

If they are doing this to their "own" people in these numbers, imagine how many Iraqi women are being "used" ??

Young men, full of testosterone and frustration, 8,000 miles from home

What did the US Admin expect ??

And what will happen to the poor Iraqi's who end up "with child" as a result

Their religion is rather sensitive about this

The US has "violated" more than just the sovereign nation of Iraq

They are violating the basic rights and spirit of the people

(sigh)

[SoCalDem]

11. I think the Iraqi women are actually safer

There would need to be some "secrecy", and most soldiers are probably afraid to wander around by themselves.. The women are kept pretty much "in seclusion", and there would be little access to them without having their male relatives nearby..

It's not like when soldiers are in Japan, Korea or Europe.. There, women actually want to associate with the soldiers, so seeing a soldier alone with a local women would not set off alarm bells..

Iraqi women could end up the victim of an honor killing if they associate with outsiders..

The soldiers that rape the female soldiers are filth.. They would expect that woman soldier to save their life if they needed help, yet they prey on them..:(

Of course the military would be perfectly happy to have women soldiers gone, so they will not place a high priority on investigating..:(

[0007]

26. "The soldiers that rape the female soldiers are filth"

I couldn't agree more. What's worse are the males and females that investigate these rapes and give the soldier a pass.

A rape should not be tolerated by anyone. I almost think a deserving punishment would be the firing square under these conditions, but I know thats not the answer.

How many women haven't reported the crime out of fear?

[Judi Lynn]

9. Oh, they wanted it, they had it coming,

and when they get pregnant, they will either use the offspring for extra welfare bucks, or they will laugh all the way to the abortion mills! <sarcasm/>

These women were willing to risk their lives protecting a way of life which doesn't protect them. They deserve a bit more respect than this.

[Robb]

17. They deserve a LOT more respect than this....

Something else horrible to consider: this is a figure only for those who sought counseling! The step to seek therapy is a big one, and I would guess it's even harder for women in the military -- in a position where they likely feel they have to put up with twice as much and do twice as well to be accepted.

Just freakin' awful. :(

[haele]

21. True-

Most military women I have met who have reported a sexual assault or sought therapy for one - no matter who did the rape - were ones that couldn't "hide" the fact - there were usually visible horrific bruises or some sort of injury or mental trauma that "interfered" with their regular duties.

Too many times, what would normally be considered sexual assault - in the military was considered something on the order of "well, we were drunk/partying/feeling lonely, it happened, I didn't say no enough times and gave out the wrong cues while we were alone, I'm furious about it but it's just as much my fault as it is his...I should have been able to control it..."
In the mean time, most times the perpetrator (not just male, in one case, the perp was a female NCO who was an unstable head case herself) goes around talking trash about the victim as if she was easy and just in the military looking for someone to take care of her - just as the victim of it is thinking of herself as lower than shit for "allowing it to happen" as well as developing the overwhelming fear and fury at the fact that she had no say in what happened to her body.
Some women can compartmentalize it and deal with it on their own terms without it seeming to affect them outwardly - but the majority can't.
Especially in combat or other high-stress situations, such lingering trauma can adversely affect the ability of the victim to "do their job" - in other words, be able to act and survive, as well as not getting their comrades killed while doing that job.

Defining sexual assault tends to be difficult in such cases - but the fact is, no matter what the degree, it's still a traumatic event that can permanently affect the victim and those around her.
Or him. (Same gender sexual assault is also not as rare as most people like to think - but the results are the same.)

Haele

[proud patriot]

19. Remember the movie 28 days later

It is a real shame that certain people think
sex is theirs to take .

:grr:

[bobthedrummer]

20. It begins before deployment, in training. Look at USAF Academy.

Look at basic training too.
Lots of sexual assaults IMO.

[kclown]

23. kick. This has the potential to close the thing down fast. n/t

[Terwilliger]

27. Looks like more "Don't ask, don't tell" to me

This is horrendous, but it's not unusual to see that the story gets little play in the American sanitized press. I think all of these women should sue the administration collectively.

[schultzee]

30. The C.O.s are responsible for this. They can force trials for

soldiers who commit these atrocities. I will write to my femals Senator about this. ULtimately is Bush's fault, just like the Bush Blind right blames everything on Clinton.

[schultzee]

31. A female could always not report and just have "friendly fire"

kill the guy who raped her. Most men are too dumb to think this can happen, but I bet it has. If a women sees this happening to other women with the rapist not getting punished, they might consider taking it into their own hands.

[smirkymonkey]

42. I could easily see this happening...

the military is sending the message that their is no justice for sex crimes committed under their auspices, and I would think that many women, given the ideal opportunity, might just take "justice" into their own hands.

Personally, I wouldn't blame them.

[Dogmudgeon]

34. A Different View

I think we're seeing more rape in the ranks for the same reason we're seeing more suicide and mental illness: Bush's jolly little war is an exercise in futility and hopelessness, and it's rotting the troops's heads from the inside. Not to belabor the point, a lot of our troops are going crazy from being in a crazy situation with no predictable mission profile or date of return home.

The Iraqis hate them. Their REMF (Rear Echelon Mother F***er) superiors exploit them for political gain then institute Stop-Loss and cut their benefits. They see their buddies get shot to hell and then after they get stitched back up, have to deal with medical providers dunning their families back home. They know they are in Iraq as part of a geopolitical game, and that they won't share any of the spoils of war. Most of them are aware of the Cheney/ Halliburton/ Bechtel axis; more and more of them are talking about their Fearless Leader's own feckless desertion during wartime. The soldiers on the front lines live in squalor and filth, and in-fighting is becoming common. And through it all, they have no idea when they are going home.

Rape isn't the half of it. Mad-dog soldiers can do a lot of damage raping a woman or two, but we have over 100,000 victims of another kind of rape in Iraq dealing with several million much-abused civilians.

The problem comes from the top.

--bkl
It ain't me ... I ain't no fortunate son!

[peacetalksforall]

36. You're talking on the wrong level...

this is where you should be -

"Some say they were threatened with punishment after reporting assaults."

This statement from the article says it all.

The level to go after is the brass.

They should lose their job if they don't follow through. Dismissing it and dismissing is with threats or innuendos is as bad as the rape.

No wonder the rape never ends.

The brass get brassier and the men under them become bolder. Men on top always unless men do something about it.

[jokerman93]

37. Discipline is Breaking Down

Maybe we're headed for a brute war force.

[neverforget]

39. My sister-in-laws friend was raped last year on her birthday.

She joined the Army last year and was sent to Korea. She was told by her superiors to not press charges but she's going ahead with it. Good for her!

[Forkboy]

40. I wish I could say I was suprised

[dax]

41. US military would release known predators back to us!

Recognizing that a military situ might bring out the worst in a person, only a sexual predator would act out to commit rape. To isolate it as a military incident sets the rest of society up for that person to return and express himself again and again if not caught-most rapists are not caught if they are careful. If the military continues to let soldiers get away with it they are then releasing criminals into society to continue committing crimes when they have already IDENTIFIED them and can take steps to prevent and notify potential communities and victims to put an end to their crimes. This is a high crime in itself-just ask anyone who has been raped how they would feel if the perpetrator had been caught raping and been released before, with no consequences.