Rapists in the Ranks

Sexual assaults are frequent, and frequently ignored, in the armed services.

The stories are shocking in their simplicity and brutality: A female military recruit is pinned down at knifepoint and raped repeatedly in her own barracks. Her attackers hid their faces but she identified them by their uniforms; they were her fellow soldiers. During a routine gynecological exam, a female soldier is attacked and raped by her military physician. Yet another young soldier, still adapting to life in a war zone, is raped by her commanding officer. Afraid for her standing in her unit, she feels she has nowhere to turn.

These are true stories, and, sadly, not isolated incidents. Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.

The scope of the problem was brought into acute focus for me during a visit to the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center, where I met with female veterans and their doctors. My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41% of female veterans seen at the clinic say they were victims of sexual assault while in the military, and 29% report being raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and the downward spirals many of their lives have since taken.

Numbers reported by the Department of Defense show a sickening pattern. In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported -- 73% more than in 2004. The DOD's newest report, released this month, indicates that 2,688 reports were made in 2007, but a recent shift from calendar-year reporting to fiscal-year reporting makes comparisons with data from previous years much more difficult.

The Defense Department has made some efforts to manage this epidemic -- most notably in 2005, after the media received anonymous e-mail messages about sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy. The media scrutiny and congressional attention that followed led the DOD to create the Sexual Assault and Response Office. Since its inception, the office has initiated education and training programs, which have improved the reporting of cases of rapes and other sexual assaults. But more must be done to prevent attacks and to increase accountability.

At the heart of this crisis is an apparent inability or unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks. According to DOD statistics, only 181 out of 2,212 subjects investigated for sexual assault in 2007, including 1,259 reports of rape, were referred to courts-martial, the equivalent of a criminal prosecution in the military. Another 218 were handled via nonpunitive administrative action or discharge, and 201 subjects were disciplined through "nonjudicial punishment," which means they may have been confined to quarters, assigned extra duty or received a similar slap on the wrist. In nearly half of the cases investigated, the chain of command took no action; more than a third of the time, that was because of "insufficient evidence."

This is in stark contrast to the civilian trend of prosecuting sexual assault. In California, for example, 44% of reported rapes result in arrests, and 64% of those who are arrested are prosecuted, according to the California Department of Justice.

The DOD must close this gap and remove the obstacles to effective investigation and prosecution. Failure to do so produces two harmful consequences: It deters victims from reporting, and it fails to deter offenders. The absence of rigorous prosecution perpetuates a culture tolerant of sexual assault -- an attitude that says "boys will be boys."

I have raised the issue with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Although I believe that he is concerned, thus far, the military's response has been underwhelming -- and the apparent lack of urgency is inexcusable.

Congress is not doing much better. Although these sexual assault statistics are readily available, our oversight has failed to come to grips with the magnitude of the crisis. The abhorrent and graphic nature of the reports may make people uncomfortable, but that is no excuse for inaction. Congressional hearings are urgently needed to highlight the failure of existing policies. Most of our servicewomen and men are patriotic, courageous and hardworking people who embody the best of what it means to be an American. The failure to address military sexual assault runs counter to those ideals and shames us all.

Jane Harman (D-Venice) chairs the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence.

Originally published in the Los Angeles Times.

Comments

[Aaror]

Rep Harman,
I agree with everything you say, but what do you propose to do?
I'm serious, the Military has a culture, and it is as different from the American mainstream as the Eskimo culture. As a former resident of Alaska, I always suspected that the higher rate or rape reporting in the native american community up there is more due to more reporting than more rape.
It is worth noting that although at least 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 6 men, have been raped, but a tiny percentage of the population commit the acts. In other words, each rapist is committing the crime at least 20 times either before they are caught, or without getting caught. This is in the civilian community!
But back to the topic, yes, it is horrible, but how do you protect them? How do you change a culture that is designed to resist change? Perhaps segregated units are the answer, as difficult as that would make life for the detailers, but that just opens the door for other discrimination. Perhaps every servicewoman should have a recording device they can turn on to prove that they said no? I'm not trying to be difficult, but regulations and congressional meetings won't do anything, either step up to the plate or openly admit you don't know how to fix it and ask for ideas.

[LeftRight]

As a veteran, I'm saddened and disturbed by this. I was honored to serve with the women who were stationed on my ship with me, and I started many lifelong friendships with them. Having said that, I wonder if the dinosaurs were correct when they said that women are a bad choice in combat?

[Pattipace7]

I wonder if there are any very old submarine veterans still alive to explain what salt-peter in your coffee everyday will accomplish. Rape has repeatedly occurred in the military since the civil war, now it’s being exploited JUST for political gain! Remember the suicide of the veteran who never had sex again because of the double circumcision he received from the Saigon whore who inserted a razor blade? What about male veterans that need counseling NOW to deal with their guilt from raping someone or from just being in the vicinity and knowing a rape was occurring? This guilt and self-hatred is also a form of PTSD that must be dealt with. If repressed memory really is a severe form of PTSD; what about the female vet who after 27 years knows that the rape was the nicest of situations that happened to her? The VA certainly doesn’t have the answer. Veterans must unite as one while leaving their sex, politics, racism and views on this war at home or our issues will continue to be politically exploited. Our politicians need to get rid of their politically correct self-righteousness and provide American prostitutes to our troops or saltpeter in their coffee

[LeftRight]

Not just our veterans, but our active duty soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen!

[MsLiz]

Tell your daughters before they sign up.

[BARRISTER]

These men are our "Heroes" that you vaunt so much?? They are all a bunch of criminals. Heroes my arse!! Just like Bush, McCain and Cheney, Lieberman

[Aaror]

29 to 41% is about the same as the civilian community, and it is probably the same small percentage of perps as well. There is definatly something wrong on the enforcement side, but you can't call every soldier a rapist because they have the same problem you have in the civilian world. As for "Heroes my arse," if you don't like the military you have, join it and make it better. Heck, I was against the war when I joined up, but I still joined because my country was going to war, and the people willing to die for our country deserve the best we can give them. All I had to offer was my service, so I signed up.
The folks who slam the military for risking their very lives for your freedom are every bit as bad as the chicken hawks who spend their blood too freely.
And yes, even though I serve in the military, I see myself as apart. I am too much of an odd duck to last long in the service, I will just do my best as long as I am allowed to. But I am not a hero, I have seen heroes, and I am just a man.

[MrHHusseinMA]

Bill Clinton has been telling black audiences that he always wanted to vote for a black candidate but now God has put him in a tricky situation where he can't do that. That's a bunch of bull! Bill can easily vote for a black man this year. Here's how: Ask Hillary to step aside and then both of them campaign and vote for him in the General Election. Easy as ABC (Anyone But Clinton!)

[tbone99]

Off topic

[snoopydawg]

And yet these 'brave men' these rapists are afraid of homosexuals because the think they will get raped? Oh the irony

[milo9]

All of sudden these Corporate Dems are blowing smoke about all and sundry. Rep. Harmon should be working on Impeachment, and Restoring the Constitution, righting the wrong of service related rape will be cakewalk in comparison.

[MsLiz]

Good grief. Men!

[PrdAmerican]

I would be interested in hearing how women from other countries are treated in their military. Meaning, is this purely and American phenom or is this a gender generated issue that exists wherever you have men and women serving together.

[qofdisks]

The comfort women of the Iraq War are American. Can we possibly more low than to use our own this way? No wonder the Islamic world despises our culture?

[musselmanm]

Well a person that was treated as implied here would not be blamed for not wtching the back of these people in combat. In fact, if I was ever treated in the manner described in this article, I would have to make sure that when in combat, many of these men would have put their head up just when I was firing at an insurgent. Damn the bad luck anyhow.

[Stanley]

Is this about "Boys" or the mental health of folks who must moralize killing and harming others on a daily basis. The high degree of stress that war creates is evidenced in the enormous amounts of PTSD and other mental illnesses as a result of combat and trauma. These traumatized soldiers rotate to non-war units and still must deal with the problem. Essentially we have a military run ragged and completely stressed and we are seeing the results of it. Rape is about control, not about being "boys." Nobody feels more out of control than someone who has been traumatized and left untreated, whether a boy or girl. The fact that the military can't cope with the issue in it's legal system is only further evidence that it is highly stressed. The commanders and officers are also traumatized and in denial of moral reasoning when it comes facing these problems. Yes there may be a systematic legacy of not knowing or ever having to deal with this issue as an organization but it appears that there is more here than that.

[kingfishstew]

Somehow, I'm not too surprised that men trained to supress and actively ignoring every day the 'thou shall not kill' taboo are also more likely to harm other human beings in ways that differ from just shooting them in the face. Maybe we need all female units. Or stricter enforcement of the rules against fraternization as well as more vigorous investigation / prosecution of rape. And as someone else mentioned, I'd bet the number of rapes of American servicewomen pale in comprison to what's happening to Iraqi women, maybe by a factor of 100 since American servicewomen won't necessarily be shot in the face for telling along with a few choice members of their families.

Of course, I'll add the necessary disclaimer: I'm sure the vast majority of our soliders are fine and upstanding, like the vast majority of people. And while our puritan society could probably avoid a lot of this by just providing whores to all gung-ho soldiers over there - something most societies have provided in abundance to occupying armies, our muslim subjects being the exception - I'm not sure this problem is going to be fixed anytime soon.

[tbone99]

Unfortunately even the vast majority of men in this country are not that "fine and upstanding".Rape is so common,about one out of five women has experienced it, no matter age or scocio- economic status.

When women must have someone guard their drink if they go to the bathroom because rophies are used so commonly, and fraternities routinely film gang bangs of inebriated sophomores it seems hard not to conclude that these are just good ol American boys taking advantage of opportunities
come their way.

And isn't opportunism the American way ?

[tbone99]

And yet over and over again comments made here on Huffpo assure us that sexism is "over".

[appleknocker]

If American soldiers are raping their female colleagues, what do you suppose they're doing to Iraqi women?

[doodlefarbe]

Poster BongWater writes, "But I am very very fearful that if I do protest, I may be caught up in a new law called The Violet Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Act."

Dude, I think you're just getting a wee tad paranoid.

I seriously doubt they'll start making it a crime to be somewhat purplish in colour.

[lisakaz]

Unbelievable. But unfortunately in a climate where some criminally-minded "men" know that a "boys will be boys" mentality is reinforced and infractions are ignored or unenforced, these figures only grow. Just part of the recklessness engendered by the top, lots of cowboying testosterone. It's sad because they give the services a black eye (Tailhook, anyone) and demean every honest soldier attempting to serve honorably. Makes ya wonder about that raped woman impregnanted and found dead in the backyard of her so-called supervisor. If the military had actually cared about the incident from the getgo, maybe she'd be alive.