It’s obvious by now that in the U.S. military we’re not only dealing with an unacceptable environment that discourages people from reporting sexual assault, we’re dealing with a full-on culture of impunity. Pentagon officials last week announced that an Army sergeant in Fort Hood, Texas, who worked as a a sexual assault prevention and response coordinator is under investigation [...]
A report released this week by the Department of Defense shows the estimated number of sexual assaults in the military increased from 19,300 to 26,000 from the 2010 to the 2012 fiscal year—a 34.7 percent increase. The number of reported assaults also went up in that time period, but only by 5.7 percent. And still [...]
Last week, the U.S. Senate held a subcommittee panel on sexual assault in the military, its first in over a decade. Three former service members testified before the panel about “a pervasive culture of harassment and danger in which victims had little or no redress.” The subcommittee’s hearing comes as senators expressed outrage over a [...]
Seventeen months after the Defense Department ended Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, it finally released information on what benefits can be extended to same-sex partners of military members. The new list of benefits leaves out some pretty important concerns—such as health care, housing and survivor benefits—because of the ongoing existence of the Defense of Marriage Act. [...]
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to extend abortion insurance coverage for rape or incest victims in the military. This amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), first introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) last year, would mean that service women no longer have to pay out of pocket to terminate those [...]
While serving in Afghanistan, Marine First Lieutenant Zoe Bedell and her Female Entanglement Team of 46 women worked within an insurgent-heavy area to improve the quality of education and health care for Afghan women and children while also gathering intelligence. In Iraq, Army Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt (who works with the Army’s Sexual Assault Prevention [...]
The Air Force released last Wednesday its report on recent incidents of sexual abuse at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where members of the Air Force undergo basic military training. According to the report, 25 military training instructors (MTIs) have been or are currently under investigation. So far, the scandal has [...]
Feminists have good reason to cringe when reading the news about General David Petraeus’ resignation as head of the CIA. It should be a simple enough story: He made an error he regrets. Apparently he deceived his wife and some of his colleagues and he’s resigning from his position. To his credit, he doesn’t seem [...]
In late May, feminists celebrated the addition of the Shaheen Amendment to the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, which would expand the Department of Defense’s abortion coverage policy for its soldiers. Currently, abortions are covered only if the woman’s life is endangered. Even if a woman in the military needs an abortion due to rape, [...]
Memorial Day build-up is in full swing across the nation, as we prepare for barbequing, beach-going or simply sleeping in. Alas, few of these preparations involve remembering we are a nation perpetually at war. As with many other national holidays (Mother’s Day being a prime example), the intent of the day has been lost to [...]
