For another class, I watched a documentary called Rethink
Afghanistan today. The film was primarily about US
involvement in the war in Afghanistan, but it spent a great deal of time
emphasizing the violence carried out against women in war zones. According to the film, women were
supposed to be liberated in Afghanistan when the Taliban were defeated. However, violence against women
actually got much worse in the war torn country, primarily on account of US
occupation. With in increase in
militarization, there has been a significant increase in the amount of sexual
assault incidents, particularly in the US military. The film, like the articles from the New York
Times, points out the intrinsic link
between the military and sexual assault.
One fact that really stood out to be in “A Peril in War Zones” was, “a
woman in the military is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than
killed by an enemy fire in Iraq.” Yet, despite this obvious link, it is
regarded as a military taboo and there is very little to done for the victims
of sexual assault. As “A Peril in
War Zones” states, the majority of sexual assault allegations don’t result in
prosecution. With this being the
case, in addition to the potentially high risks involved reporting, it becomes
clear why a lot of women might not feel comfortable reporting. While it is nice to hear that more
women in the military are coming forward, it should also be noted that more
women are in the military now. In
turn, this could make it seem as if a greater percentage is coming forward than
in the past when really there is a larger pool of women.
Captain White’s story portrays the difficulties facing women
in the military when it comes to reporting. Captain White was assaulted by a warrant officer multiple times,
but did not come forward about what happened because she believed that she had
to keep quiet and her head down in the military. It wasn’t until another investigation arose that Captain
White’s story surfaced and the warrant officer was charged with nineteen
offenses. Captain White admits that she may not have handled the situation
properly, but that there is a lot of emotional baggage for victims of assault
in the military that keep them from reporting. The military is supposed to provide security for our
country’s men and women, but it seems that it cannot even do that within its
own institution and that women are disproportionately victims of such security
failures. If the military
cannot act as the role model is often made out to be, then what hope does that
leave the “civilian world” with?
Societal change is often a product of a change within institutions, so
the military has a responsibility to take a proactive stance when it comes to
combating the perils sexual assault in war zones.
I think Emily brings up a crucial point when she says “the military is supposed to provide security for our country’s men and women, but it seems it cannot even do that within its own institution”. While our society tends to look up to the men and women serving in the military as heroes, there are severe issues occurring within this institution, particularly sexual assault as seen in “Peril In War Zones”. I agree with Emily that the military is responsible for taking an active role to work to end rape and sexual violence between female and male US soldiers.
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