The Marines United scandal shows how ideals of heterosexuality and manliness in military culture converge—and reflect an environment where women are not treated as equals.
Military Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is a pervasive, deeply-rooted epidemic in the U.S. military, with women experiencing the brunt.
Canada is Blaming Sexual Assault on “Biological Wiring”
In March, retired Canadian Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps published a report detailing the cultural factors that contribute to the high levels of harassment, date rape and other forms of assault in the Canadian military. Earlier this month, CBC news released an interview with Canadian Chief of Defense Staff General Tom Lawson, who had something […]
NEWSFLASH: New Legislation Would Protect Military Whistleblowers
On Thursday, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) along with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) introduced legislation that would protect military whistleblowers who come forward with allegations of sexual assault and other wrongdoing. The Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act is similar to a bill drafted by Boxer in the 80s, the […]
Kirsten Gillibrand: Taking On Military Sexual Assault, One Bill at a Time
This March, for Women’s History Month, the Ms. Blog is profiling Wonder Women who have made history—and those who are making history right now. Join us each day as we bring you the stories of iconic and soon-to-be-famous feminist change-makers. “We should all be able to agree our brave men and women in uniform deserve blind justice,” […]
Military Rape Report Card: Still Failing
The latest annual study on military sexual assault from the Department of Defense (DOD) shows that reports of such assault rose 8 percent since 2013. Perhaps even more striking, however, is that the incidence of retribution against those who report sex crimes is a stunning 62 percent. That means service members who came forward with […]
We Heart: Australian Chief of Army David Morrison, Feminist Ally
On June 12, 2013, Lieutenant General David Morrison, AO, Chief of Army, sent a message to the Australian Army by posting a YouTube video on the Australian Army Headquarters channel describing his thoughts about the allegations of sexual assault, harassment and degrading behavior by Aussie Army members. In the video, General Morrison says: Every one of us […]
Senate Passes New Procedures for Prosecuting Military Sexual Assault
Having seen the Pentagon report of 26,000 cases of military sexual assault in 2012, with only 10 percent being prosecuted, is the U.S. Congress finally going to take military sexual assault seriously? There was some good news this week as the Senate unanimously approved a bill proposed by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) that would change […]
10 Ways to Keep Up the Feminist Fight in 2014
The progress the feminist movement made in 2013 illuminates the progress we still need to make. In the following list, we celebrate the good of this year, and suggest where the road to equality should take us next: Women were allowed into combat this January, but the prevalence of sexual assault on the job—nearly one […]