Rape in the Military?

Question

What, if anything, is the US Military doing to prevent the raping of military women by their fellow military men? And is it working?

My intention wasn't to bash the military. I'm actually considering joining the army as a woman and wanted to make sure I wouldn't be raped while I was doing active duty. As for the guy that doesn't believe this is a problem in the military: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/17/60minutes/main674791.shtml

Answer 1

First, I'm not condoning rape in the military or in civilian life. It is a horrible crime that should be punished to the max. But, with that said, I do have to say that the article leaves me asking many more questions than what it answered. How many rapes are prosecuted in the military each year? They only talk about two cases, but don't go into much details about the case. I'm not talking about details of the rape itself, but how it was investigated, what evidence was collected, any witnesses that were questioned, etc. All the article displays is these women's point of view.

When I was in the Navy, I was on a combat ship, and at that time, women were not allowed to be stationed on them. I knew quite a few guys that use to be on supply ships, which did have women on them. They all said that if you walked into a shop that had only a woman sailor in it, the best thing you could do is turn around and walk out. Why? Because if she got mad at you and wanted you to get in trouble, she could say anything she wanted to, and it was her word against yours. And generally, unless you had hard evidence to the contrary, she usually won.

Answer 2

The straight answer to your question:

(1) The military attempts to prevent rape by introducing sensitivity classes and Equal Opportunity channels from the lowest to the highest levels. They also attempt to assign women away from combat arms troops and put them in relatively low-risk occupations.

(2) How well does this work? In all honesty, probably not better than any sort of equivalent measure taken in a civilian workplace. The only difference is that the complete ban on pornography and alcohol in combat theaters aggravates the situation further. UCMJ punishment is also a farce. I expect there to be vigorous protests at this statement, but I have seen too many investigations screwed up and too many rapists walk free in service. UCMJ for serious felonies is often more tragicomedy than anything else.

(3) Your best protection against rape as a female servicemember is to choose your occupation and duty station carefully; and to be perceptive on how your chain of command works. Band together with others, use the complaint channels wisely, and don't put yourself in high-risk situations a la Tailhook. Air Force females get a briefing before deployment on how NOT to associate with Army males. The problem is that bad in some respects; it is not impossible.

I can point you towards some more research, or send a firsthand account over, if you want to discuss this further. My email is activated. Don't let the nightmare stories drive you away from service, if that's what you want. It's your life. Don't let fear ruin it.

Answer 3

I'm a female and was in the Army as a mechanic. I worked mostly with males and only once experienced sexual harrassment, and the one guy who did give me issue was swiftly taken care of as soon as I reported the incident. The military has many rules and regulations regarding sexual harrassment, and rape is certainly against UCMJ, but just in any situation the rules are only as good as the people who enforce them, meaning it's up to the chain of command to do the right thing. Most of the time they will, but occasionally you'll run into a jerk...just as in any society and lifestyle.

Personally, I would be asking the same question about college, about dating, about any workplace situation. This happens in all walks of life, but because of the male-domination of the military in history, it's in the spotlight. I'd say don't put yourself in a situation for it to be a risk if you can help it, always be sure people know where you are and where you're supposed to be, and present yourself as a strong and confident female. My experience is that the guys mostly thought of me as an equal or a sister...the guys in the motorpool were always on my side and many threatened the jerk who gave me grief.

I would never presume to say that it doesn't happen, it won't happen, or it can't happen...but those things can't be said for ANYTHING. Good luck with your decision! It was the best thing that ever happened to me!

Answer 4

I grew up as a military brat, it was a problem but not to the degree that it is in the civilian population and the internal structure of the military is set up to prevent it to a degree that the civilian world can't do. The military isn't a democracy so they can do a lot more than civies can about the problem. Under Clinton some of these measure were set back but war changes everthing an the military becomes more restrictive of the movement of their personnel and isn't a lot of time to mess around and get into trouble.

Answer 5

What is being done in the civilian world to stop rape? Laws and punishment if the laws are broken. It's the samething in the military. Service members have rules that they have to follow and when they break them they are punished. Why, of all the risk in the millitary, are you worried about rape? Not in all cases, but in a lot of the cases the female that is accusing members of rape was doing nothing to protect herself. By this I mean she went out alone with a group of guys, that she didn't know all that well. They drank and drank and drank somemore. Then in the morning when she woke up naked and sore, she accused them of rape. No they shouldn't have taken advantage of her drunken flirting, but hey she shouldn't have gotten so drunk that she didn't know what was going on. She should have used some common sense and went with someone she trusted. Or shouldn't have drank so much. Very rarely do you hear of a service member getting raped who wasn't in a bad situation from the start.I'm not saying this is the case with all of the rape cases but a large majority. So if you really want to join then join. But don't assume someone else is going to take care of you. Take care of yourself and use some common sense. Don't make yourself a target. It could just as easily happen if you were in college and went to a frat party and got drunk. Feel free to e-mail me if you want to ask somemore question about the military, if I don't know the answer I know the recruiter who will.

Answer 6

I work with two women who retired from the military;one from the Marines, the other from the Air Force. Both of them say they had great careers and that they were not men and women in service, but they were troops. They said that overall they and their cohorts followed a code of honor and this was not a problem. While there were some who were skeptical about serving with women, they chose to adjust their attitudes or were shown the door. My dad served with women in the Air Force, many who I met and they were excellent people, my dad had the utmost respect for the men and the women he answered to, commanded, and served with.
I live in a city with a strong Army presence, (San Antonio, TX) and women are present and active in the Army here and are doing very well.

Answer 7

A lot. and YES it's beginning to work.

Currently on almost every installation there is what is known as a Sexual Response Coordinator. We have begun to allow Active Duty Service Members the ability to report their assault through restricted channels - this increases reporting.

Units are required to conduct annual training on reduction of rape.

The focus is not just on the victim any more. The training is now focusing on potential rapists as well. Educating them is just as important as educating the victims.

Answer 8

The statistics for rape aren't really any different in the military than in the civilian world. We had two rapes on cherry point in the 5 yrs I was there (that I am aware of), and on the second rape, the woman in the case was actually brought up on charges for the unlawful use of deadly force. These charges were dropped (please tell me who in their right mind would try to prosecute that case?), and both women actually fought like wildcats.

I guess a difference between attempting rape against a civilian and (in this case) a Marine is that these two women knew just as much about fighting and defending themselves as their attackers did.

Rape is a horrible crime, and its effects reach way beyond the scope of the actual event itself, with possibly a lifetime of effects on the victim and his/her future relations (yes, guys have been raped, too). I'm all for making eunuchs out of them, but then, I'm a cold hearted bastard.

Answer 9

My husband is currently stationed in Germany. And AFN (armed forces network) has been running big campaigns on TV to Prevent sexual harassment. (rape is all in the same category) They're slogan is "not in m army" there are serious consequences. just like there would be in the civilian world. As sad as it is there are still some sorry people in the army that don't care about the army values and lack values period. Just as there are in the civilian world. I don't think that your anymore at risk in the army that you would be as a civilian. If you want to serve your country don't let this fear stop you. Do whats in your heart.

Answer 10

What there is to be concerned about besides protecting the females in the military... is protecting the civilain females taht live aroudn military bases....

I know 3 women who have been raped by military men... One of them by 3 guys.... And nothing was doen to these guys becasue they are our brave military...

Dont get me wrong i love our military... I am married to a navy man...

But how do these few men that think they can ruin someones lives not have any consequences?