Women in the military more likely to be raped than killed

January 14, 2009

While Kurdish women in Iraq are being held down and having their genitals mutilated without anesthesia, while young girls are being disfigured with acid for daring to go to school and while child marriages are sanctioned in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and throughout the Arab world, American woman continue to be killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But not all of them die.

Some come home broken, having had their bodies forcibly invaded and souls murdered. By rape. By their fellow countrymen.

Raped while they are defending our freedom.

Raped by their fellow soldiers, while others look the other way.

Raped by their superiors, who are supposed to protect them from harm.

Why the focus on "Don't ask, don't tell" and not on the epidemic of rape?

Rape cannot be blamed on war or explained away by conditions on the battlefield.

It's a heinous crime that has no cure or retribution. What gets stolen can never be given back or replaced. A hole remains that can never be healed.

Rape murders a woman's soul just as surely as a bullet.

Imagine you are a woman covering your buddy's back during the day only to be raped by him at night. Where could you go to seek help? Safety? Sanctuary?

Would you have the courage to speak up in a place where all you have are your fellow soldiers - many of whom know what is happening but do nothing to stop it?

Who could you tell? Would you think anyone would listen - let alone believe you?

And even if someone did - how would you get away from the immediate environment? From the rapist? From the shame?

I read this article, "Alarming Sex Assault Rate Found Among Vets" by CBS News national security correspondent DAVID MARTIN. It's more horrific than I imagined. But how can a man report on the full impact of rape in ways other than statistics?

He can't.

How many female soldiers feel safe enough to speak up (even after they've left the military)? And if they do, who treats them? A man?

MARTIN (highlight added):

Tuesday, researchers reported that an alarming number of female soldiers have sought treatment for sexual assault committed by fellow soldiers. A Veterans Administration study found that one in seven female veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seeking medical care from the VA suffered sexual trauma - everything from harassment to rape.

Medical records of 125,000 war veterans, both men and women, showed 15 percent reported sexual trauma. That works out to nearly 2,600 veterans, almost all women. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, since the study covered only a fraction of the 870,000 veterans who have fought - and none still on active duty.

"I do feel that it is much higher than that, and if they could get the records of all the women that have returned that had been sexually assaulted, those afraid to come in, they would find that it's a lot higher," said Wanda Story.

Story, who was raped twice during her military service 20 years ago, now heads the United Female Veterans of America. She says the military has done a lot to improve the climate for women, but war makes it worse.

"They're out there, they're away from their families, they're away from their girlfriends, you know, their wives," she said. "They see an opportunity."

A recent survey by the Government Accountability Office of just 13 military bases found that 103 service members who say they've been sexually assaulted in the previous 12 months.Numbers like that produced this jaw-dropping statement by Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.:

"Women serving in the military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than to be killed by enemy fire in Iraq."

And women who suffer sexual trauma are more likely to develop medical and mental problems.

Studies show it ranks high - or higher - than combat as a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder.

And what is being done about it? What does she come home to? What does she say to her husband ? Her family? Her children? Her community?

Why should a woman, who volunteered to defend our freedom, come home with such shame when she did nothing but serve her country honorably?

Why should a man, who dishonored the Military Code of Ethics and broke the law while killing their fellow soldier's soul, come home to silence and face no punishment?

How many of you are right now thinking: It's their own fault...women shouldn't be allowed in the military...they're just faking it to get a free pass home...c'mon what do you expect guys to do?

Look inward and answer to your own conscience. Remember that rape is under reported in the regular population and much more so in the military. If moved, do something. Show some support in whatever way you can - if only being kind to the women you know.

Go to the United Female Veterans of America website. "Holding Aloft the Torch of Patriotism." They are a non-profit veterans organization founded in May 2006 "out of a necessity to bring women veterans together in a unified organization." Their dream?

That no veteran ever spends another day without a friend, a home, a family, a meal, a job, a healthy mind and body and a heartfelt thanks for their sacrifices for our country.

Is that too much to ask?

And why should they need to?