Women Abused
In the Military

Women thinking about a career in the military should really beware of the dangers. Thousands of women are being raped in the military. Then they are being allowed to get raped all over again by the military system of justice.

From a story done by Fox News on March 21, 2007: Sexual assault reports in U.S. military increase by 24% in 2006. There were 3000 rapes. Action was only taken against 780 people. In most cases the charges were not substantiated for lack of evidence. In most cases they receive an Article 15, which means a cut in pay, a rank reduction, and, or extra duty. The accused doesn’t usually lose their career in the military or serve any jail time.

If you’ve seen the story aired on the Early Show on August 28, "Tables Turned On Alleged Rape Victim" (Tracy Smith). Text book again, there is not enough evidence again. The men get charged with a lesser crime and no jail time.

The Ft. Hood Herald ran a story on June 9, 2004 about how the Army develops policy to address acts of sexual assault. Regulations were supposed to be set in place like assigning a victim advocate, setting up training about the prevention of sexual assault. But have these new regulations been beneficial to the victim? We keep seeing story after story with the same result.

The reason why this is important to me is my daughter was also raped in the Army. She went through the same exact situation as these girls. She has gotten out of the military with a medical release. She suffers from PTSD and has also attempted suicide several times. The man got an Article 15.

My daughter was in the top two in her class as chemical specialist. She received awards and special coins to attest to her qualifications. But once she was raped, she was treated differently, was told by her superiors to get over it. She was moved to a unit that was getting deployed.

I fought for my daughter. I wrote to Senator Leahy and his office investigated and helped me get my daughter home. So, I warn you women thinking about the military life to beware of the dangers

Tina Hatch

Randolph

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