Category: Sexual Assault

Sex-Assault Victims May Be Eligible for VA Disability Pay

On By AdministratorIn Military Policy, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Veterans AffairsSex-Assault Victims May Be Eligible for VA Disability Pay

Military personnel who were the victims of sexual assault can seek disability pay for the psychiatric trauma even if they didn’t officially report the incident, a U.S. appeals court ruled today.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-09-30/sex-assault-victims-rejected-by-va-for-disability-to-get-review

Fear of retaliation: The culture that prevents airmen from speaking up

On By AdministratorIn Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

USAF SealFear of retaliation: The culture that prevents airmen from speaking up

They accused superiors of assault and harassment, now their careers are over.

Victims “tell me they don’t come forward for a number of reasons. They feel personally ashamed. They feel that they may be blamed for what has happened. They do fear retaliation, sometimes from chain of command, sometimes from their buddies in the unit.”

Read more: http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20131007/NEWS/310070009/Fear-of-retaliation-The-culture-that-prevents-airmen-from-speaking-up

Rape In The Military: An Epic Tragedy Enabled By Poor Governance

On By AdministratorIn Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Rape In The Military: An Epic Tragedy Enabled By Poor Governance

Did you see the recent New York Times article on the outrageous questioning of an alleged rape victim during a military trial? The scene described dovetails with events going on at the University of Southern California Price School, where I teach and direct the Bedrosian Center on Governance. It also highlights how poor governance structures can make a bad system even worse.

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/raphaelbostic/2013/10/01/rape-in-the-military-an-epic-tragedy-enabled-by-poor-governance/

Pentagon advisory panel: Strip commanders’ ability to prosecute sexual assaults

On By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Department of DefensePentagon advisory panel: Strip commanders’ ability to prosecute sexual assaults

The push to strip commanders of their authority to prosecute sexual assault cases got a boost from an official Pentagon advisory group that is calling on military leaders to support the proposed law.

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, known as DACOWITS, voted on Friday to support the controversial bill that is gaining steam, albeit slowly, on Capitol Hill.

Read more: http://www.armytimes.com/article/20130930/NEWS06/309300029/Pentagon-advisory-panel-Strip-commanders-ability-to-prosecute-sexual-assaults

The U.S. military’s enemy within

On By AdministratorIn Military Policy, Sexual Assault1 Comment

US NavyThe U.S. military’s enemy within

As a sexual assault case involving three U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen — all current or former football players — works its way through the system, advocates for victims of sexual assault in the U.S. military say abuse stems from a culture of misogyny and machismo in which sexual aggression and deviance are tolerated and even admired as the Right Stuff.

The culture, they told “E:60,” has been enabled by the U.S. military’s system of broken justice that allows the military to attract abusers while providing them a safe haven.

Read more: http://espn.go.com/espn/e60/story/_/id/9754343/the-us-military-enemy-within

Why do we need the Military Justice Improvement Act?

On By AdministratorIn Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment

Retaliation

Because more than 86% of service members assaulted do NOT report it. Help us pass the MJIA. Contact your
Senators and Representatives and ask them to reform the military justice system and provide victims with a new place to report their crimes. Please sign this petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s-congress-demand-justice-for-military-sexual-trauma-victims-support-s-967?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=petition_message_notice

Another Reason We NEED the Military Justice Improvement Act (US Navy)

On By AdministratorIn Felony Crime, Military Policy, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, Sexual AssaultLeave a comment
The Navy Yard Shooting breaks my heart. As with all tragedies we must learn from them to determine what we can do as a society to prevent a similar tragedy in the future. In this case, how could we have utilized the military institution to determine whether this person needed help or was a danger to our society.  This is yet another reason we need the Military Justice Improvement Act.  We cannot continue the pattern of kicking soldiers out of the military due to mental illness or criminal activity only to become society’s problem.     
 
This case has the same theme as most of the cases I research involving either suicide or murder.  The soldier either asks for help and/or starts getting in trouble and instead of anyone helping him/her, they just toss them out on their head.  When we got tossed from the military, they never gave us any information about where we could get help, what PTSD was, nothing.  We went from straight up military life to blam, you are now a civilian and gotta figure this all out on your own (with no money). As a military member, it is not easy to transition back into civilian life.  All we needed was for someone to say, it’s not your fault, you have PTSD, and this is how you treat it. Regardless of the reason why you were tossed, you should be referred at least to the Veteran Affairs for help. There is currently no continuity between releasing the soldier from active duty and transitioning them into the Veteran Affairs for care.
 
The Military Justice Improvement Act would help us deal with situations like this.  Instead of the member getting tossed out by a Commander, who doesn’t have time to deal with the real issues, he could have been processed through a division of the military that was professional enough to understand that the person had PTSD or some other form of mental illness.  And instead of just sending them out the door, we could use this opportunity to give them the information they need in order to get well.  The trigger being as soon as the soldier starts showing signs of misbehavior then they get referred to the folks who would make the decision as to whether or not the soldier needs to be punished and/or helped. 
 
If the soldier was harmed on the job or started exhibiting symptoms of a mental illness while on the job, then it is the military’s responsibility to treat them. Please have some compassion for their cries for help so that future tragedies like these do not occur.  All the services are there for the veteran that you toss out with no aftercare plan.  Give them the tools to heal, acknowledge the harm that was caused, and stop treating us all like we are casualties. The military must be held accountable for the people they know are either sick or a danger to our society. Otherwise it ripples into every community across the world. 
 
Areas of Improvement:
  • recruiting policies and screening
  • transitioning active duty to VA for aftercare,
  • closing security clearance loopholes,
  • centralized database to track reported criminal activity while serving,
  • improving the communication between civilian and military authorities,
  • helping or locking up the person so we can prevent the crime.
 
In the news:
Navy Yard killer Aaron Alexis heard voices, but kept secret clearance http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_24117796/navy-yard-killer-aaron-alexis-heard-voices-but
VA Says Navy Yard Gunman Didn’t Seek Mental Health Treatment http://www.stripes.com/va-says-navy-yard-gunman-didn-t-seek-mental-health-treatment-1.242105

Petitioning U.S. Congress: Demand Justice for Military Sexual Trauma Victims. Support S.967

On By AdministratorIn Military Policy, Sexual Assault1 Comment

 

U.S. Congress: Demand justice for Military Sexual Trauma Victims. Support S.967

“As it stands now, any U.S. Military personnel, male or female, who are sexually assaulted or harassed are at the mercy of their own Commanding Officers who have full jurisdiction and discretion in prosecuting these cases. In many of the cases the perpetrator is not prosecuted while the victim is treated as the criminal, ostracized and harassed by their own command and often their military service stands in jeopardy. S. 967 takes the Commanding Officer out of the case and provides a specialized legal group in charge of investigating and prosecuting these cases. Please help Military Sexual Trauma Victims by telling Congress to pass S.967 Military Justice Improvement Act 2013”

Chuck Hagel’s sexual assault panel may be too late

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Child Abuse, Cold Cases, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, Military Policy, Navy, Sexual Assault, USAF, USMCLeave a comment

Department of DefenseDefense Secretary Chuck Hagel is soliciting advice on what else he can do to stop sexual assault in the ranks by turning to a panel of experts from outside the Pentagon.

But there’s a big catch: The nine-person committee he has chartered to study the issue doesn’t plan to release any recommendations until several months after the Senate votes on the key question of whether to remove the chain of command from major criminal prosecutions.

Read more here.

Military still secretive on sex crimes

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, Military Policy, Navy, Sexual Assault, USAF, USCG, USMCLeave a comment

Department of DefenseFor all the public scrutiny of military sexual assault this year — from  hearings to heated Senate debates — congressional efforts are only just  beginning to challenge the Pentagon’s overarching strategy on the issue for the  past 25 years: secrecy.

From tracking the extent of the problem to showing how cases are resolved,  the military has consistently and forcefully resisted fully airing details.

Read more here.