Posted on 04/18/2009 8:16:48 AM PDT by Zakeet
Female U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have more to fear than roadside bombs or enemy ambushes. They also are at risk of being raped or sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers.
"The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq," a book based on 40 in-depth interviews, recounts the stories of female veterans who served in combat zones and tells of rape, sexual assault and harassment by male counterparts.
Some were warned by officers not to go to the latrine by themselves. One began carrying a knife in case she was attacked by comrades. Others said they felt discouraged to report assaults.
"The horror of it is that it is their own side that is doing this to them," said the book's author, Helen Benedict, a journalism professor at Columbia University in New York. The book was released in the United States on Wednesday.
One in 10 U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan are female, and more women have fought and died in the Iraq war than any since World War Two, according to U.S. Department of Defense statistics cited in the book.
Benedict said the book's title comes from the isolation female U.S. soldiers experience when combining the trauma of their combat duties with sexual harassment by fellow soldiers.
"Because women are under so much more danger now and actually in the battle, it's a particularly tragic situation because all soldiers are supposed to be able to rely on one another to watch their backs," Benedict said.
"And how can you feel that way if your fellow soldiers are harassing you all day or trying to rape you or actually even raping you?"
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Not hard to believe.
They’re now taking gang members and those with criminal records into the military.
This is probably going to get flamed, because I don’t know the situation and how many men there were...
But if she can’t fight off a fellow soldier, why is she in the military to fight enemy combatants?
I know a lady who is a warden in a federal prison who is 4’11”. She has kicked prison men’s butt! There are ways to bring someone down, regardless of their size.
Anyway, as I said, I don’t know the situation, but that’s my first thought.
Ah I see. Rape is OK and the solution is to do away with the victims.
Women: Think of ANY 9 random guys you know- what percentage of them would you trust yourself to be alone with for a year or so?
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Are you kidding? There *may* be as many rapes in the military as there are outside the military. But more? More than on a college campus? I seriously doubt it.
You said — You accept that our military men would behave as the author claims?
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Well, let’s analyze that statement... are you talking about *all* military men or *some*? I’m supposing that you’re indicating *some* — but you don’t make that clear.
I don’t believe the author is indicating *all* but only *some* and that these conditions (combat) make for it to happen...
So, going on the basis that you’re saying *some* — I’ll simply say that it may be that all you’re disputing is “how many” the *some* is — more than anything else — and you’re not really disputing that it *does happen*.
On the other hand, if you’re disputing that it *does happen* at all, then all I would do is go to the military records and show the various rapes that military men are *already* convicted of.
I guess it really depends on what you’re saying, and I haven’t figured that out yet...
Comrades huh?
I’d like to see the results of a similar survey done by the military. It would also be biased, of course, but in the other direction, so we’d likely get a better picture of the scope of the problem by putting the two together. I’m sure that a lot men capable of this sort of thing are getting into the military these days, but then so are some of the Lynndie England types of women.
What a crock of Leftist hatemongering anti-military steaming crap. (Retired after 28 years in the Navy).
Unless they are in an audience to see Barack Obama, almost every woman in uniform in Iraq has been armed to the teeth even in PT clothes.
Of course I’m willing to bet this author would have no problem with Gays in the military....
So, you’ve known some good ones then. It only takes one bad one to change your mind, though... or to make you aware that there *are* those who will do that... (but perhaps you already know that and pick carefully who you associate with...)...
And, there’s nothing wrong with “self-selecting” the “right ones” to know... not at all...
You said — Perhaps you might reread my posts, then.
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I reread it and I can’t distinguish what I was saying...
That was the whole point of the article in the first place, to attempt to weaken the argument against having gays in the military.
I wonder what percent were actually raped, which is a crime under the UCMJ. These figures are bogus.
>>And this is why you don’t have female soldiers.<<
What are you implying about American service men?
You are aptly self-named: Non-Sequitir.
You said — Baloney. I’ve known plenty of military men. They are usually better behaved than many of the civilians I’ve known.
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I take it that you’ve not met them all, and thus, you are going by a “self-selecting” segment, which most would choose in order to be “safe” with, being that they are recognize as such, by you and your observations. I have no doubt that this is true — exactly what you say — but not necessarily true for the entire group...
Betcha this don’t make Nbr 1 best seller on Amazon.
What a load.
And I suppose the same could be said of females in those situations. Maybe some are a little more inclined to see sexual harassment towards them where none was intended?
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