Sunday, August 13, 2006

Sexual abuse in the (US) army

  • Appalling account of victims being subject to more humiliation and chastised, instead of being believed and protected.

“Women and men have been sending us their stories of sexual abuse and harassment. Jessica was raped multiple times in South Korea and treated like a liar when she tried to report it. Lawanda was raped by a colleague in Afghanistan. When she asked for medical care, she was told she could not receive care until she filed a formal complaint. When she did file her complaint, she was transported to care on the same plane as her attacker. Each of them were humiliated by command and treated with disrespect. Now both women are fighting to come home. Why is it we are not protecting these women?

It's bad enough we are sending our young people to an illegal occupation. But we must draw the line at our military having to defend themselves from sexual predators. […]

There’s an online petition for Suzanne, an MP who served in Iraq and was sexually abused during her duties. She’s now spending time in jail because she refuses to go back to Iraq, as a result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as Military Sexual Trauma.

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