In the recent past, the labour force has provided more opportunities for women representation in the workforce. However, cases of violence towards women in the workforce are on the rise. Certainly sexual violence in the form of rape in the military seems to be an underreported crime. The act stigmatizes and traumatizes its victims profoundly. The vice has gained public awareness especially amongst the United States Armed Forces. Related misconducts have been reported in United States military bases including Okinawa in Japan, and most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. Although there exists cases of male rape, in the military, female rape cases in the military are reported to be three to ten times higher.
Causes
Arguably, the military culture tends to favor men as compared to women. In fact, women military soldiers are likely to be raped by their fellow militants than being killed by their enemies (San Francisco Chronicle 11). The combat zones are intrinsically violent as well as hyper-masculine. The military tends to focus more on winning wars at the expense of providing solutions to the scandals taking place within the military units. Military commanders are not taking the issue of sexual assault/rape seriously thus leading to continuous occurrence of rape cases in the military. Precisely, the combat zones are a hostile environment, particularly for women soldiers. Hypothetically, a combination of various factors including relational, individual, and situational factors contribute to occurrence of sexual rape in the military. There are no private places such as tents set aside to accord privacy to the female genders in the military to assist them perform their daily routines. Moreover, there exists no sufficient lighting inside and outside the military camps thus, predisposing the women soldiers to rape/sexual assault (Hookway 15). It is further reported that pornographic pictures are scrawled on washroom walls in the military bases. Despite the fact the sex is prohibited between soldiers, reports indicate that platoon leaders hand out condoms, which fuels the spread of the vice.
The existence of isolated tents in military camps further surpasses the efforts to eliminate the vice, as it provides a “sexually charged environment” for sexual assault. The vice of sexual rape in the military is further fueled by access of pornographic content/books/films in the military bases especially through black markets, which has been reported in Afghanistan (Hookway 36). Military bases are composed of units whereby soldiers are grouped into units regardless of their gender in an effort to strengthen cohesion. Military units share the same abode and this illuminates sexual rape in that in the event of working within the units, chances of rape are increased, as the environment within the units offer are somewhat encouraging for rape incidences. Use of drugs by militants is also a causal factor of military rape. Most of the offenders are influenced by drugs to carry out the vice (Sizemore 2).
Sexual violence within the army continues to rise despite efforts by the congress and the international community to fight the vice. Offenders of sexual violence are rarely prosecuted neither are they dismissed from the military force thus contributing to the increase in cases of military rape (Hookway 11). Furthermore, victims of sexual rape in the military dread reporting the vice, as most of the times their seniors are the offenders and incase they report they risk being dismissed from the military force. They also dread reporting, as they will be taken to have broken military loyal ties. Rape myths and appraisal of blame is the other factor that influences victim-reporting behavior. These factors highly contribute to the rise in the military rape. In addition, the military system lacks a neither system nor place to deal with soldier-to-soldier sexual assault. It is also reported that women American soldiers who refuse male colleague advances are purported and reported as suspected lesbians (Sizemore 4)
Effects
Sexual assault in the military constitutes a variety of effects. The principal problem resulting from sexual assault in the military is rape trauma. The vice causes irreversible psychological stress leading to long-term physical health problems. A larger percentage of sexual assault victims show symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), often called rape trauma (Sizemore 5). The victims feel betrayed as they loyally joined the military for a larger cause and could not expect to undergo such ordeals from fellow militants. The issue further stems up as they are not accorded allowances for post-traumatic stress caused by the assault. The military further lacks sufficient mental-health personnel to aid the sexual assault victims.
Sexual assault victims from the military live highly depressed life, with some attempting to be suicidal at some stage in their life. Depression further results in poor health status and are at times put under anti-depressant medications. The victims fail to thrive in social activities they engage in due to recurrent problems emanating from sexual assault. Many report having failed to complete college, and decreased financial incomes (Hookway 43). Loss of education, social stigma, and reduced annual financial incomes renders the victims of military sexual assault vulnerable, based on their dependency on others for their upkeep. Victims of sexual assault in the military experience rejection from the military units, and in extreme cases they are demoted. Often, they are put in isolation as they wait to be deported back from the military bases.
Victims of military rape suffer deadly injuries due to the rape ordeals. Most of the victims suffer permanent damage on their genitals and develop fistulas, resulting in chronic incontinence. Victims of military rape are more predisposed to HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Induced, as well as unwanted pregnancies emanating from sexual rape also increase due to military rape (Sizemore 7).
Conclusion
Exposure to sexually insensitive environments in military bases and barracks shows an increase incidence of rape. Special chambers should be established and given a mandate to investigate serious violations of humanitarian laws particularly in the military sector. It should be able to prosecute senior military officials of all crimes they commit. Offenders of military rape should be martialed by the military judicial system/court as a way of scrubbing out the vice (Sizemore 18). The military should maintain a climate that minimizes sexual assault incidents, encourage victims to report incidents without fear, and ensure that leaders take stern measures on offenders through the use of appropriate disciplinary and administrative actions.
Work cited
Hookway, James. Philippines rape charge recanted: wall street journal 253.64 (2009):
EBSCOhost online. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
San Francisco chronicle. Support our women in uniform. Newspaper source 10 Jan. 2007: pA 11.
EBSCOhost online. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
Sizemore, Bill. Lawsuit alleges tolerance for rape, sex abuse in military (2011). EBSCO host
online. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
