60% of female vets sexually harrassed - I'm fucking pissed!!!

[cynatnite]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Six in 10 women who have served in the National Guard and Reserves said they were sexually harassed or assaulted, but less than a quarter reported it and many who did were encouraged to drop the complaint, according to a survey released Thursday.

The survey, done by the Department of Veterans Affairs and released by Democratic members of Congress, found that nearly half of the women who responded said the sexual trauma occurred while they were on duty. Fifty-two percent of the cases involving women were verbal harassment and 8 percent involved rape or attempted rape, while the rest were for other types of incidents.

More than 27 percent of male Guard and Reserve veterans said they had experienced some type of sexual harassment or assault -- most often by other men.

The VA surveyed nearly 4,000 men and women who served between 1950-2000.

http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2005/09/29/news/latest_news/6693030a1466f9eb8625708b0068b8f2.txt

This pisses me off to no end. Sexual harrassment by men was almost a constant when I was active duty for four years. It got better later on when the chain of command began taking it seriously. This new survey tells me it hasn't gotten any better and the chain of command only takes it seriously when they have to.

Women fight like hell to be treated equally and the military is no different. Hell, me and other women were more than willing to share the same dangers as the men. They are sharing them now even though they don't get combat pay.

This tells me women are still treated as badly as they were when I was in. It infuriates me.

[Ezlivin]

1. My wife was hit upon by Commander Lust when she was in the USNR

She'd served her four years at CINCPACFLT and was used to the courteous behavior of flag officers. When she started her Reserve duty, she found that the courtesy was gone.

I never saw sexual harassment during my service, but hell, there were no women aboard my submarine.

[cynatnite]

3. Most of mine was basic, AIT and my first posting in Germany...

The drill sergeants were always saying crap to us and we were too green and too young to really know much of anything. In AIT, it was common from the men of all ranks. This was at Ft. Sam Houston. In Germany, I was stationed at a based with blackhawk and huey units. I worked at a small clinic there and any claims of sexual harrassment were pretty much dismissed. Most of us women just had to suck it up and tolerate it. That's where it was the worst.

It didn't get better until after I was sent to Ft. Ord, Ca. They didn't put up with much crap there.

[Wickerman]

6. I saw the same in AIT at Ft Sam

in the late 80's. Women got varying levels of what I saw as sexist behavior and the instructors openly "courted" the young ladies. Of course all the instructors were married. :eyes:

[cynatnite]

8. Exactly! I was there in '86 n/t

[hootinholler]

24. Gots My fish!

Hello brother. John Adams 81-82, here.

-Hoot

[Angry Girl]

2. I'm shocked it's ONLY 60%!

The military is the most sexist place I know of ... besides the film biz, that is.

[cynatnite]

4. I'm sure it's higher...some women won't say a word to anyone...

It's so demeaning and I wouldn't be surprised at things they were told in order to keep quiet.

[DanCa]

5. I agree with cynatnite it's probably like college "hazing"

Not to belittle that crap that people are put through butI am sure the military is still mostly a boys club where women are thought of as in secondary roles or other nonsense.

[cynatnite]

7. It's definitely not college hazing

Women are treated like second class citizens and labeled for being in the military for the most part. Male minorities are treated better than the women.

Six in 10 women who have served in the National Guard and Reserves said they were sexually harassed or assaulted

And only a quarter report it. It says 'assaulted', but it's a downgrade from the real meaning. Rape.

[DanCa]

11. yeah thats why i air quoted it. My appologies hopped on cold medicine.

[cynatnite]

18. No prob :)

[DanCa]

23. It's the same kind of code of silence that goes on in college hazzings

I think that's what i was going to say. I just had a darvocett and a pepto bismol chaser so i am still out of it.

[cynatnite]

25. Now, that I do agree with...

I hope the darvocet and chaser helps :hug:

[ismnotwasm]

9. My daughter dealt with it by growing tough as nails

She calls most army males "swinging dicks" She's a staff sargent now, one of the things she had to do is develop a sarcastic and abrasive personality--Not all the time, but it's not pleasant to see. She does try to support and motivate her soldiers. She excels at PT, trains hard-- HAS to do as well as men, (for herself) got her Air assault wings, was thinking of special forces/ airborne at one time. (Now she says the 182nd is a cult)
What sucks is she had to develop a set of fucking defense mechanisms against this shit. They work for her so far, most of the time. (She's getting out after 8 years regular army which I'm grateful for)I pity the non-military male that tries any shit with her--it's almost like PTSD.

[cynatnite]

16. And women have to work twice as hard to just be considered...

almost equal to the men.

It says a lot about her as a person given all her accomplishments. She sounds like a hell of a woman :)

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Why am I not surprssed

There are many layers to this folks but I am not shocked one iota... and for the record it is not only the US Military...

[Triana]

14. What nadinbrzezinski said...

...women are denigrated, demonized, and devalued in every facet of American society, including in civilian life and work, as well. The laws on the books against it are unenforceable. They're mostly there to make people 'feel' good that they're there but that's about it.

Harassment and abuse of women is part and parcel of a patriarchal society. Notice that most prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib involved sexual harassment if not just plain rape. Men who abuse women in US society and in the military do it for the same reasons they do it to prisoners. Power and control. And it's pretty much sanctioned. Until that changes, this will keep happening.

Funny how women are demonized for 'PMS' or their 'moods' when it's really men who are most often perpetrators of abuse and voilence. THEY don't fear from us on dark streets at night or jogging in parks for the most part. It's quite the other way around. WE are the ones who live in fear and under the thumb of a mysogenist, patriarchal government that sanctions that behaviour pretty much. A few convictions here, a few there...but there is no serious effort to STOP it at all. Not on the streets, not in the workplace, not in the military.

That's the problem with patriarchy.

[DerekG]

12. Should I be surprised? I mean, the military isn't a Quaker community

Forgive my bluntness, but we are dealing with an organization that gives you sanction to do a lot of things which are generally frowned upon in civilian life.

War, racism and exploitation aren't exactly alien to one another.

[Ilsa]

13. My friend was assaulted at Tailhook 2 years & once at the Pentagon.

One year she scared the guy off, and he and his ensign and j.g. buddies took off running. The second time she grabbed the guy and slammed him into hallway wall, grabbed his crotch really hard and asked him if it "felt good". He ran away, scared she could wipe him out.

The Pentagon assault was less sexual, but violent, just the same, by a superior officer. But she got him back.

[rbajai]

15. Some men in general consider themselves ENTITLED to sexually harass.

I think the numbers are higher in the military though due to their excuse that "war is stressful and therefore we need sex."

I support our military men and women but the men REALLY do need some serious training and admonishment of this kind of behavior. It decreases morale and is morally abhorrent.

[cynatnite]

17. It needs to be constant and not these bandaid approaches...

to a festering wound. The bandaid always falls off.

My experience in the military was overall a good one and I value it. But you would think this kind of thing would be nipped in the bud and kept on regularly.

[AlphaCat]

19. In my college classes 15 years ago...

...when we talked about violence towards women, some guy would jump up first and say how women abuse men--and the conversation would just end amid groans. Are things still like that?

[MountainLaurel]

20. Hang out here for a couple minutes

It'll come. It always does.

[lastknowngood]

21. I'm surprised the number is that low I expected that me to have

been sexually assaulted. I spent 7 years in and things have sure gotten better since then.

[0007]

22. During the Korean War period it was much high than 60%

in my view point.