Join The Army! -- Get Raped

[Dems Will Win]

This has always been out of control and must be getting worse under Bush Cheney and Rummy.


Rape Victim Sofia Rodriguez

Sexual Abuse By Military Recruiters
Over 100 Women Raped Or Assaulted By Recruiters In Past Year

More than 100 young women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters. Women were raped on recruiting office couches, assaulted in government cars and groped en route to entrance exams.

Anita Sanchez, director of communications at the Miles Foundation, a national advocacy group for victims of violence in the military, bristles at the idea that the enlistees, even if they flirt or ask to date recruiters, are willingly having sex with them.

"You have a recruiter who can enable you to join the service or not join the service. That has life-changing implications for you as a high school student or college student," she said. "If she does not do this her life will be seriously impacted. Instead of getting training and an education, she might end up a dishwasher."

...

"Any recruiter that would try to claim that, 'Oh, it's consensual,' they are lying, they are lying through their teeth," said former Marine Corps recruiter Ethan Walker. "The recruiter has all the power in these situations."

In Indiana, where National Guard recruiter Sgt. Eric Vetesy has been charged with 31 counts of rape, sexual battery, official misconduct and corrupt business influence, military officials have instituted a new "No One Alone" policy to prevent further incidents.

http://rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fstories%2F2006%2F08%2F19%2Fnational%2Fprintable1913849.shtml

From 1995:
Sexual assaults in military bring shame, not action

Ninety percent of women under 50 who have served in the U.S. military and who responded to a survey report being victims of sexual harassment, and nearly one-third of the respondents of all ages say they have been raped.

The incidence of violent assaults among female veterans, the vast majority of whom reported at least one ``severe assault,'' is much higher than in the general population and raises questions about the treatment of women currently on active duty and the 1.2 million veterans, researchers said.

The abuse may be responsible for an increased risk among female veterans of depression, anxiety and hospital treatment, Maureen Murdoch and Kristin Nichol of the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center wrote in the Archives of Family Medicine, published yesterday by the American Medical Association.

``Both domestic violence and sexual harassment while in the military are common experiences for female veterans,'' they wrote. ``Attempted and completed sexual assaults were reported at rates 20 times (higher than) those reported for other government workers.''

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1995/05/12/MN63836.DTL

Today, things haven't changed--except Rummy is trying to cover it up:

Sexual assaults in military bring shame, not action

How many are serving in the armed forces' four branches? In January, 1,409,564. That was 1,723 less than in December. The Pentagon has figures going back to the 1950s.

Now, how many military women reported sexual assaults in the past few years? How many people were arrested or punished?

Despite a succession of embarrassments, the Pentagon lacks answers — at least publicly. It says the numbers are almost ready and will be reported to Congress on May 1. Less clear, though, is whether the problem will finally get the priority that it deserves.

Since the early 1990s, studies, scandals and news accounts have shown that women in uniform are plagued by sexual abuse. The disclosures led to a succession of investigations but only minor policy changes.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-03-27-our-view_x.htm

Please pass this on to young ones so they talk about it amongst themselves. Remember to recommend, so they might get to hear about it. Thanks!

[soothsayer]

1. They still join after they're raped by recruiters? That's bizarre.

[Dems Will Win]

2. Yes because it's still their only way out of poverty

or so they think.

It's not the American Dream anymore, it's the American Nightmare...

[celestia671]

4. How sick!

I'd rather be a dishwasher!

[sutz12]

3. Yep! Whipping those boys into shape...

It takes real men to torture and rape. Don't want no pussies in our Army, now do we. We need real men who take what they want, when they want. Don't need none of that there politically correct crap. That just encourages the terra-ists. We only allow women in to be the boy toys between the fightin' anyways.

:sarcasm: Just in case you didn't get it. ;)

[Virginia Dare]

5. Commisar Rummy sez....

we're at war and we don't have time to deal with such trivialties.

[salin]

6. Misogyny - power dynamics

I would guess that some of these are based on an inherent belief and deep-seeded anger that women should not be in the military. Rape is often more about power/abuse/dominance sometimes combined with a sick belief in a need to "teach a lesson" (power/ not sex) than it is about sexual desire. The sad fact that there is little done about the epidemic, sends a message that such brutality is condoned.

My heart goes out to all the victims of these violent crimes.