A new report released by the Pentagon estimates that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year. But only 3,374 assaults were reported in 2012, because the service members do not have confidence in military justice.
Sex assaults growing epidemic in military, on SFChronicle.com.
In the meantime, Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, 41, the Air Force official in charge of its sexual-assault prevention program, was arrested for groping.
Air Force’s sex-abuse prevention honcho charged with sexual battery, on NBCNews.com.
OpalRose
On Friday, the Military Officer’s Association of America published the following on their website. Here’s to hoping the message will make it all the way through to final legislation.
_________________________________
May 10, 2013
On Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel released the department’s 2012 report estimating that 26,000 sexual assaults took place in the active force over the past year, a 37-percent increase over what was reported in 2010.
Calling sexual assault in the armed services one of the most serious challenges facing the Pentagon, Hagel stated, “This department may be nearing a stage where the frequency of this crime and the perception that there is tolerance of it could very well undermine our ability to effectively carry out the mission and to recruit and retain the good people we need.”
The report was released as high-level attention in Congress has been aimed at curbing sexual abuse in the armed services. Hagel has directed the services to implement a new strategic plan to address sexual assault and hold leadership accountable.
MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr., USN (Ret), recently endorsed Sen. Patty Murray’s (D-Wash.) new legislation, the Combating Military Sexual Assault Act of 2013 (S. 871).
“The 380,000-member Military Officers Association of America strongly endorses S. 871, the Combating Military Sexual Assault Act of 2013,” Ryan said. “Preventing sexual assault is a duty of everyone in the chain of command. This legislation will increase support for sexual assault victims and strengthen policies and procedures for such cases in our nation’s armed forces.”
MOAA will continue to monitor DoD efforts to curb sexual assault in the military and will seek legislative improvements to address this serious and growing problem.
Donna Andersen
OpalRose – thanks for posting this notice. I hope the military officials do something about this terrible problem.
Donna Andersen
Military chiefs oppose removing commanders from sexual assault probes
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/04/politics/senate-hearing-military-sexual-assault/
Donna Andersen
Military sex assault reports jump by 50%
Officials believe that the number of sex assaults may be stable, but victims are more comfortable making reports.
If that’s the case, there are still too many assaults, but maybe, with more reporting, they will decline.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20131227_ap_aeadeb71bc2d412cb19ef4778dd8f796.html
onmyown
Donna,
Have you read about the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, who was an employee of military contractor Kellogg, Brown, and Root in Iraq? She claimed she had been brutally gang raped in that country and appeared on many news programs, and also in a documentary film. There was a great deal of public outrage on her behalf at the time the story was picked up by the national media in 2007. She sued the company and it came to light during the trial that she was diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and almost every claim she made that was associated with the alleged crime was proven false with forensic science. She also has a personal history of claiming rape when someone has “wronged” her.
I mention it here as the other side of the coin. People who have falsely claimed rape make it that much harder for victims to come forward. It’s so hard to report a sexual assault already because there is so much (unwarranted) shame and fear of not being believed.
Rape in the military is, to me, especially heinous. These men are assaulting their own. They are supposed to be able to trust one another – that each will look out for the other in the most dangerous times. That can’t be the case if women still have to fear sexual assault from their peers.
It might be important to note here that it’s fairly common knowledge our military was accepting questionable individuals into the armed services during the two wars, and they are currently weeding them out. I think we’ll see a dramatic drop in reported cases of rape over the next few years. Until the next war.
Donna Andersen
onmyown – thanks for the info about Jamie Leigh Jones – I didn’t know about the case.
And yes, some disordered people want to join the military because they like power and violence. I’ve heard from their spouses.
onmyown
Donna, here’s an article on Jamie Leigh Jones from a journalist who appeared in the documentary film with the subject. She’s been so confused and haunted by the case that she wrote about it two years later, and she’s gotten a lot of grief from people for suggesting it’s possible the woman is an outright liar. She’s one of few, other than the Houston Chronicle and Mother Jones, who ever followed up with in-depth investigative reporting. There were people who were deeply invested (emotionally and otherwise) in this case, and they cannot and will not hear that she is anything but a victim.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/november_december_2013/features/the_war_of_rape047355.php?page=all