For Female Soldiers, Sexual Assault Remains a Danger
By Celina R. De Leon, AlterNet
Posted on January 5, 2007, Printed on January 5, 2007
alternet.org
"I fear that she will kill herself. I fear that she
will never have a happy life because she's been so
damaged by all of this," said Sara Rich of Eugene,
Ore.
Sara Rich's daughter, Suzanne Swift, is the
internationally known American military police officer
facing a possible dishonorable discharge for going
AWOL. Swift, who suffers from post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), did not want to rejoin the superiors
who sexually harassed and assaulted her. As a result,
she has been charged by the U.S. Army with being
absent without leave and missing movement for not
being present with her company when it left for Iraq
in January of 2006.
Swift, 22, was sexually harassed by one sergeant and
coerced into a sexual relationship by another sergeant
while on duty in Iraq. After she was arrested at her
mother's home last summer, Swift was stationed at Ft.
Lewis in Washington, where she was sexually harassed
by another commanding sergeant.
Swift was offered a "deal" but decided to complete her
court-martial and served 30 days in prison and was
stripped of all her rank. She was released Wednesday.
According to Sara Rich, "The deal was that Suzanne
stay in the military for her remaining 19 months, no
reduction in rank, a summary court-martial, no
assurance she would not be redeployed and here is the
kicker, Suzanne would sign a statement saying she was
not raped in Iraq."
According to reports released by the Department of
Defense, within the last calendar year, there were
2,374 reported cases of sexual assault. This includes
about 400-plus cases in which the victim was a
civilian and the alleged offender was a military
personnel.
"Over the two-year period of time in which Congress
has been requiring this mandated reporting to the
Armed Services Committees, it's about a 60-percent
increase," said Anita Sanchez, of the Miles Foundation
based in Newtown, Conn., a private nonprofit
organization that provides services and research on
interpersonal violence within the military. "And our
offices have received over 500 reports of sexual
assault in the central command area of responsibility
[Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Bahrain]."
Women and men confront particular challenges when
faced with sexual assault and harassment in the
military. Unlike in the civilian world, it is illegal
to have a consensual relationship while on duty in the
military. It's called "fraternization." And unlike
many parts of the United States, the "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" policy reigns supreme. It is illegal to be gay
and/or have same-sex relations while serving in the
military. This, combined with the fact that the
military does not adhere to rape shield laws, makes
reporting one's sexual assault case particularly
difficult.
"If you go into a court-martial -- whether you're
heterosexual or homosexual -- it doesn't matter. Your
sexual history, your relationship history even, can
come into view," said Sanchez. "The military continues
to be behind the rest of our society in revising our
sexual assault statute."
The Miles Foundation worked to get Congress to pass
revisions to the rape statute Article 120, but those
don't go into effect until October of 2007. The time
frame is to ensure the Manual for Courts Martial,
essentially the rules of evidence in the military,
will also be revised. The revisions include the
recognition of a variety of types and severity levels
of sexual assault. Previously, the only changes made
to the statute were in 1992: the recognition of
same-sex sexual assault and the recognition of marital
rape. Before that, the Uniform Code of Military
Justice hadn't been revised since 1950.
"Once you report, your career is at risk for taking a
different path," said Kathleen A. Duignan, executive
director of the National Institute of Military Justice
in D.C. "It's almost as if you're guilty until proven
innocent because everyone is saying, 'Well, before I
take this as a real case, the victim and the accused
generally know each other. Has this come to light
because of their own misconduct?'"
In addition, if you're a woman, and your case is
brought before a military jury, the probability is
very high that it will predominantly be made up of
male officers. The sheer number of men in the military
outdo the number of women who become senior enough to
serve on courts-martial.
Very often, many women are also encouraged not to file
a formal report that will go into the file of the
accused. She's told often, "You don't want to ruin a
good officer's career, do you?" As a result, many
women agree not to file formally; or are transferred
by their command; or the accused perpetrator is
transferred; or nothing is ever done.
Maricela Guzmán, 29, still hasn't told her family or
her ex-husband, about the sexual molestation she
experienced eight years ago while serving in the
military. She just started coming out to fellow
activists she's met through her counter-recruitment
work in Los Angeles, Calif. She just began to see a
psychiatrist who diagnosed her with PTSD.
"It's not that I'm afraid of telling [my family],"
said Guzmán. "I'm afraid that they're going to get
hurt because I'm Mexican-American and for my family --
if that happens to a woman, a daughter or a sister --
it's going to be hard for them ... especially for my
father. I know that he would feel like he did
something wrong by supporting me and not saying
anything when I joined the military."
Guzmán was 21 when she joined the U.S. Navy as an
information system technician from 1998-2002. She was
sexually molested by a commanding officer during boot
camp; Guzmán had never had any sexual experiences
prior to the molestation. She was on night watch and
dispersing laundry when the molestation occurred.
"The corner was very dark and everybody was sleeping,
and I walked through that area and he got me into a
corner," said Guzmán. "I knew he was one of the
[superiors] because he had the special badge ... But I
knew he wasn't our direct commander because he was
much taller and definitely thinner. He grabbed me and
he molested me. I was so scared I kept very quiet.
After it was done, he left through the back door. I
just remembered closing my eyes and not looking at
him. I don't even have a name or a face. I think I was
trying to cope with what was happening to me at the
time."
The next day, Guzmán was reprimanded because she
didn't follow the proper procedures the night before.
She doesn't remember how many times she was instructed
on how to do the proper procedure before she was able
to again. From then on, until the completion of her
boot camp, Guzmán remained silent.
"It was hard because I needed somebody to talk to and
I didn't have that space. And because I didn't follow
proper procedures, I didn't feel comfortable enough to
talk to [my superiors.] So, I just stayed quiet ...
And whenever a commander from a different division
came, I would always look down because I didn't want
to recognize him ... I didn't want to make it real."
Guzmán immersed herself in her work and does not
recall much about the rest of her boot camp
experience. But she does remember sexual assault being
a normal way of life for many women the duration of
her military experience, and that many did not report
them. Many women do not report their assaults because
they hear it through the grapevine the negative
results other women have received for trying.
Guzmán has recently come to terms with how her PTSD
affected her four-year marriage. While she was married
she suffered bouts of depression, PTSD moments, and
did not want to engage in sexual intimacy. Since her
divorce, she has been in one relationship, on and off
for about a year. But after two major PTSD moments
with the person she was dating, her partner ended the
relationship.
"Some women do fairly well while they're in the
military and don't fall apart until after they've been
discharged," said Callie Wight, a psychotherapist who
has been treating trauma survivors, including
veterans, for 16 years. "Some women can't hold it
together while they're in the military because of the
PTSD they've begun to experience, and so begin to fall
apart while they're in the military ... PTSD symptoms
are a normal reaction to an abnormal experience."
PTSD is often associated with mental symptoms:
inability to sleep, extreme nervousness, anxiety, and
the ability to be easily startled. Wight has found
from her work over the past 10 years with female
survivors of sexual trauma, that many women also
suffer physical symptoms, especially when they don't
seek medical help for their PTSD.
"She's desperately trying to forget about what
happened to her, get over it and get back to what was
her normal style of functioning," said Wight. "But
what happens with psychological trauma experiences is
unless that trauma is really dealt with consciously,
in a therapeutic way, all of those attempts to put it
behind her only serve to suppress the information, not
eliminate it."
Physical symptoms can include chronic pelvic pain and
irritable bowel syndrome. Some women also become
bulimic, compulsive eaters, and abusers of drugs and
alcohol -- their attempts to "self-medicate" rather
than seek professional help.
"Frequently Latinas are less sure that psychotherapy
may be useful. And many times women from a
working-class background where family and friends may
not have gone to college. Often there is the
association that anyone who goes to therapy is crazy,"
said Wight.
Susan Avila-Smith, director of Women Organizing Women
based in Seattle, Wash., has been helping survivors of
military sexual trauma across the country for 12 years
get their VA benefits. Avila-Smith served in the U.S.
Army from 1991 to 1995. She suffered sexual assault
while at a military hospital having surgery. Her
husband, who was also a member of the Army, battered
her. It was when she sought services at the Seattle VA
that she realized many women are sexually assaulted in
the military.
"You can't sue the government. So, what I try to do is
get veterans their benefits, which includes medical
and emotional support, and money to stabilize their
futures," said Avila-Smith. "I focus on what I can do,
not what I can't do."
The Feres Doctrine prevents anyone from suing the
government for damage that's been done to them while
serving in the military. In addition, the McDowell
Checklist includes 57 questions that victims of any
crime are required to answer according to the service
they are working for. There is no way to complete the
Checklist truthfully without being accused of
something. The questions include: Did you wake up
during the assault? Did the assailant wear a mask?
There are also five laws of immunity, which protect
the accused perpetrator, making it difficult for a
victim to legally acquire justice over the perpetrator
or the system.
In order to file a claim and receive monetary
compensation for a sexual assault suffered in the
military, what's often referred to as a "service
connection," the victim needs to show that her/his
illness is related to or connected to her/his work
during service. According to Avila-Smith, you don't
have to present hard evidence to the VA that you have
experienced some kind of sexual assault because it is
common knowledge that many assaults go unreported and
files are often cleansed of evidence. As a result, the
VA accepts Article 15s and other "soft signs" of
traumatization, which they refer to as "markers."
Often, when a soldier reports an assault, s/he is
accused of adultery or under-aged drinking, gets
reprimanded, and then receives an Article 15, which
may also result in the loss of rank or pay.
Apart from filing a case, veterans can walk into any
VA facility, and are entitled to the counseling and
medical benefits they need related to the types of
trauma they have experienced. The VA does not provide
abortions but does treat STDs. Based on the 650-plus
cases Avila-Smith has filed, many veterans do not know
they can receive medical benefits for their sexual
trauma.
If female veterans have any trouble receiving their VA
services, another resource is the women veterans
program manager (WVPM) at their Veterans Health Agency
(VHA). Every major VHA has a WVPM. She is usually a
nurse practitioner who manages women veterans' care as
well as advocates for women veterans' within the VHA
system.
Avila-Smith's cases have included a Vietnam veteran
from Puget Sound, Wash., who was gang-raped during a
mock prisoner war camp exercise by his entire unit. He
then received ridicule and harassment when he became a
she and went to receive her VA benefits. Photos of her
genitals were attached to the front cover of her
medical file. Avila-Smith has been working with her
since 1997.
Avila-Smith has filed three cases in 2005 and 20-plus
cases in the 1990s of veterans, who while serving in
the military, were sexually assaulted or harassed
because of their race.
A case of justice
Sexual assault is the most underreported crime,
according to the National Center for Victims of Crime.
Sixteen percent of sexual assaults are reported to law
enforcement authorities. The reporting rate for the
U.S. Armed Forces in sexual assault cases is 22-23
percent, substantially greater than the reporting rate
within the civilian community.
April Fitzsimmons, 38, was 17 when she enlisted in the
Air Force to be an intelligence analyst. The oldest of
six kids, living in Montana, she didn't see any other
options for her future. Her roommate was working the
night shift when she awoke one night to find a fellow
soldier she thought she knew fondling her. She
screamed at him to leave and spent the rest of the
night crying.
"I wasn't 1000 percent sure of who it was, so I kept
quiet," said Fitzsimmons.
A few weeks later a military police officer who was a
friend of hers advised her to use the deadbolt at
night because a male soldier had the key to the
women's dorm rooms and was letting himself in. He also
told her he had three suspects. April asked if the man
she thought fondled her was one of the suspects and
the officer answered in the affirmative. She went on
to file a report and the perpetrator went to trial,
was found guilty, and shipped off the base.
Fitzsimmons considers herself lucky, and spends a lot
of her time advocating other soldiers who have
experienced sexual assault to come out. She performs a
one-woman show entitled, "The Need to Know," every
Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Calif. She's been
performing it for four years; she wrote the play after
Sept. 11.
But Fitzsimmons is still debating whether to seek VA
benefits for her PTSD. Her commander in the Air Force
encouraged Fitzsimmons to receive therapy, but she did
not think it was necessary at the time.
"I don't know if I will," said Fitzsimmons. "I don't
know if I want the government's money to be honest."
Celina R. De Leon is a contributing writer for WireTap
magazine, and interviews editor at Feministing.com.
She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. |
