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UO addresses prevalence of rape in military
Command Rape panelists discussed the hardships of women who face the danger of being raped by fellow soldiers
by Talia Schmidt | Freelance reporter |
This is a story about people in the U.S. military who rape other people in the U.S. military.
Justice Not War Coalition staff member Karla Cohen introduced the Command Rape panelists to the 60 people who gathered in the Knight Law center on Wednesday night.
"These stories are not easy to hear," Cohen began. "The realities hit too close to home."
"In Iraq, many servicewomen are carrying weapons to protect themselves not from insurgents, but rather from their 'battle buddies' - the men with whom they are ostensibly fighting a war for democracy and freedom, the comrades who are supposed to have their backs," Cohen said.
"At least three women serving in Iraq have died of dehydration as a direct result of choosing to forego liquids rather than risk a dangerous nighttime trek to the latrine," Cohen said. "Their 'battle buddies' often await them there."
Carol Van Houten of the Community Alliance of Lane County and the Committee for Countering Military Recruitment discussed the power dynamics that play a role in military rape. She said it can be hard when women are discredited and the government opts to believe men.
"The military just turned a blind eye to this problem," Van Houten said.
She said toward the beginning of the conflict "when there was still actually a war in Iraq," then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld went to Iraq specifically to investigate the high number of military rapes.
But since Rumsfeld's trip, the government has done nothing to stop the still-high occurrence of rape, she said.
Van Houten began by reading an excerpt from an interview she'd had with a young military woman who'd been raped by her recruiter.
"The recruiter had all the power. He had the uniform. He had my future. And I trusted him," Van Houten read.
Panelist and University law professor Caroline Forell spoke about military culture for women. She focused on the internal dynamics within the military and the seriousness of power structures.
Justice Not War Coalition staff member Karla Cohen introduced the Command Rape panelists to the 60 people who gathered in the Knight Law center on Wednesday night.
"These stories are not easy to hear," Cohen began. "The realities hit too close to home."
"In Iraq, many servicewomen are carrying weapons to protect themselves not from insurgents, but rather from their 'battle buddies' - the men with whom they are ostensibly fighting a war for democracy and freedom, the comrades who are supposed to have their backs," Cohen said.
"At least three women serving in Iraq have died of dehydration as a direct result of choosing to forego liquids rather than risk a dangerous nighttime trek to the latrine," Cohen said. "Their 'battle buddies' often await them there."
Carol Van Houten of the Community Alliance of Lane County and the Committee for Countering Military Recruitment discussed the power dynamics that play a role in military rape. She said it can be hard when women are discredited and the government opts to believe men.
"The military just turned a blind eye to this problem," Van Houten said.
She said toward the beginning of the conflict "when there was still actually a war in Iraq," then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld went to Iraq specifically to investigate the high number of military rapes.
But since Rumsfeld's trip, the government has done nothing to stop the still-high occurrence of rape, she said.
Van Houten began by reading an excerpt from an interview she'd had with a young military woman who'd been raped by her recruiter.
"The recruiter had all the power. He had the uniform. He had my future. And I trusted him," Van Houten read.
Panelist and University law professor Caroline Forell spoke about military culture for women. She focused on the internal dynamics within the military and the seriousness of power structures.
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Dorothy
dorothy
posted 6/01/07 @ 11:25 AM PST
Women in the military are a huge failure;not fault of women,fault of military.Even the Israeli army had to stop doing it,it did not work,and THEy are tough. (Continued…)
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