Increased Attention on Rape Culture is Helping More Military Sexual Assault Victims Come Forward

[demmiblue]

Source: Think Progress

The number of official reports of sexual assault among members of the U.S. military jumped by 50 percent this year, according to preliminary data obtained by the Associated Press. Officials emphasize that doesn’t necessarily mean the incidences of sexual assault increased; rather, they believe the data signals that more victims are now reporting the crime.

In recent years, the number of official rape reports has significantly underestimated the actual rate of sexual assault in the military. For instance, 3,374 rape reports were filed during the fiscal year that ended in September 2012. But a survey conducted among service members estimated that closer to 26,000 sexual assaults had actually occurred during that time period — a figure that may still be too low.

There may be slow progress in this area, however. According to the AP, more than 5,000 sexual assault reports were filed during the 2013 fiscal year. Officials don’t believe the number of sexual assaults in the armed forces dramatically rose in 2013, based on surveys and focus groups with survey members, so the jump in reports likely indicates that more of these crimes are making it into the system.

The push to combat sexual assault in the military has gained bipartisan momentum over the past year. Victims have repeatedly alleged that they don’t feel comfortable coming forward because their superiors don’t take rape seriously, sometimes even blaming them for the crimes perpetrated against them. Many of them say that the strict hierarchy in the armed forces makes them too afraid to report sexual assault to ranking officers. The controversy has spurred some serious policy changes — just last week, President Obama signed a new defense bill that includes provisions to ensure victims aren’t punished for reporting sexual assaults — and military leadership is cautiously optimistic that national attention is helping the culture improve.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/security/2013/12/30/3107021/military-sexual-reports-rise/

[el_bryanto]

1. That's positive - our military has a particularly shameful history when it comes to rape

Hopefully this will shine a light on it.

Bryant

[Zorra]

2. Bingo. nt

[zazen]

3. and hopefully the converse might be true

When military men, who are culturally associated with traditional ideals of masculinity (however limiting those may be at times) stand up and say, the courage and honor and self-discipline and bravery and duty entailed in military service do not require simultaneous domination and otherization of females (or the rape of other supposedly "weaker" men), then perhaps those males who rationalize rapist ethics in the culture at large will feel a little less comfortable doing so.

Those women who are willing to tolerate that risk in the military amaze me and have my eternal gratitude. No way I'd have that kind of fortitude.

[sufrommich]

4. Women and gay men are the military's

cultural pioneers. That takes immense fortitude,I'm not sure I could do it.

[seabeyond]

5. good. the louder we get, each and everytime, we will shame them to action. yes... shame them. nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. good

[davidn3600]

7. One of the biggest problems in this area...

...is in basic training where a lot of drill instructors still use homophobic and misogynistic slurs to try to motivate recruits. They conflate women and gays to being weak.

Here is a report in the Huffington Post earlier this year about drill instructors call recruits, "faggots" as much as 50 times a day.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/25/marine-letter-faggots-boot-camp_n_3322214.html