|
First a story of three women in the military. Stephanie Schroeder joined the U.S. Marine Corps not long after 9/11. A year and a half later, the Marines diagnosed her with a personality disorder and deemed her psychologically unfit for the Corps. Anna Moore enlisted in the Army also after 9/11. Moore was a Patriot missile battery operator in Germany when she was diagnosed with a personality disorder and dismissed from the Army. Jenny McClendon was serving as a sonar operator on a Navy destroyer when she received her personality disorder diagnosis.
But aside from being all disgnosed with personality/psychological disorders, these three women have on other thing in common. They are all victims of rape duing their stint in the military.
CNN did a thorough study on this on all branches of the military and saw a glaring pattern of dismissal by psychological reasons immediately following rape and sexual assault cases. As for the three women earlier, here are their accounts:
Schroeder says a fellow Marine followed her to the bathroom in April 2002. She says he then punched her, ripped off her pants and raped her. When she reported what happened, a non-commissioned officer dismissed the allegation, saying, "'Don't come bitching to me because you had sex and changed your mind,'" Schroeder recalls.
Moore says she was alone in her barracks in October 2002 when a non-commissioned officer from another battery tried to rape her. When she filled out forms to report it, she says, her first sergeant, told her: "Forget about it. It never happened," and tore up the paperwork.
"It felt like a punch in the gut," Moore says. "I couldn't trust my chain of command to ever back me up."
McClendon says she was aboard a Navy destroyer at sea when a superior raped her on the midnight to 2 a.m. watch. After reporting the attack, she was diagnosed with a personality disorder and deemed unfit to serve.
As far as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) is concerened, a personality disorder is a long-standing, inflexible pattern of maladaptive behavior and coping, beginning in adolescence or early adulthood. That means women like Schroeder, Moore and McClendon had a pre-existing personality disorder when they joined the military. Someone with personality disorder tends to get fired from jobs, get in trouble with the law or at school or is unable to maintain relationships. It therefore "makes absolutely no sense medically for people to be diagnosed all of a sudden after being sexually assaulted as an adult in the military to say 'No, you've had this all along,'" says Bhagwati, of the Service Women's Action Network.
The complications are easy to see. First, like in all rape cases, there will always be "false cases" where the female victims are merely getting back at their former lovers or just decided after the fact that what they did was wrong. Of course rape cases always give primacy to women, as it is among the few criminal cases that require no actual legal witness to progress, and can proceed just by mere account of the victim. This is where the second complication comes in. In the constraints of the military operation, the heirarchy of priorities is a matter of grave importance, and as such, internal problems, such as rape among the ranks, has to pass through the messy process of bureaucracy first, often resulting in being buried among the "military files". The third complication is how DSM classifies its assignment for various disorders. DSM is taking a lot of flak already for its qualification of ADHD, some even going as far as accuse it of being arbitrary, and worse, peddling paranoia as the characteristics it lists for someone to qualify for ADHD may in fact include most people. The same case is often true for other psychological disorders.
But when you look at it closely, these complications are actually opportunities for a productive dialogue and positive change in the conduct of society. Namely, the military should conduct a more thorough psychological review of its members. This is beneficial not only to filter cases such as rape, but also to ensure that its members are fit for the taxing task of being in the military. Also, there has to be a proper avenue for review of cases on sexual abuses in the military. The case here is compounded mere beyond the usual "abuse in the workplace" because these women are volunteering their lives in the service of the country. There has to be a proper protocol and procedure in the military first to prevent such abuses from happening, to deter any possibilities of such, and to ensure that abuses will be meet with fast and just penalties. Moreover, there has to be an extended procedure by the military to look into the psychological well being of abuse victims.
What do you think about this issue TL?
NOTE: An earlier thread on the same topic was closed by motbob mainly because the first few replies immediately jumped on USA bashing. I pmed motbob on reopening the thread with a more focused and discussion friendly OP. So please discuss with the intention of sharing knowledge or discovering knowledge or contributing to the addition of positive knowledge. Thanks.
CNN
|
The military will always find ways to protect senior ranks and maintain harmful masculinity norms. Just look at DADT : (
|
I agree, there has to be a better system to deal with these things, especially in the military. I am sure this is not unique to the military or America, but as a society as a whole, it is our obligation to ensure that everyone are given equal protection of law and not be subject to abuse becuase of our differences, whether in gender, race, religious beliefs, creed, culture, etc.
|
Sounds like it's taken straight out of a bad movie.. absolutely horrendous  Would've hoped our society had already progressed beyond the point where testosterone pumped morons got to cover each others backs to get away with crime.
Also, I find it ironic to call for proper mental checking of people wanting to have as their job to kill other people...
|
On April 17 2012 19:12 TS-Rupbar wrote:
The military will always find ways to protect senior ranks and maintain harmful masculinity norms. Just look at DADT : (
You should know that leaders in the military, including the ranking officer in each of the army, navy, airforce, and coastguard supported repeal long before it finally got passed. As did the Chariman of the Joint Chiefs and a majority of active service members.
It's probably better to look at this as an organization going out of its way to protect members of the in-group. It's much more like the way the Catholic Church has shielded child molesters in its ranks.
|
I think this issue is silly to discuss. You put women (the weaker and opposite sex) amongst people trained to ignore morals (to you know kill and stuff without any real reason) and then act surprised when the standard results that have been happening for hundreds upon thousands of years happens.
Best thing to discuss is why have all armies not be outlawed. That would solve the problem. Anything else is just words in the wind. End war... end killing... end rape. Well killing and rape will most likely still happen but at least it would be at a reduced rate.
User was warned for this post
|
|
|
Israel2209 Posts
I think that some non-commissioned officer or a sergeant should not have enough authority to dismiss rape charges.
And why are the female soldiers reporting it to them in the first place? You don't go to your boss when a co-worker rapes you, you go to the police. There must be somewhere else soldiers can report this to? The military police?
And in case the entire military tries to hide this by discharging them under false claims like the article suggests, there should be an external system that can handle that as well. For example the Israeli defense department has an external body headed by a civilian with authority to investigate any part of the military, and any solider and their family members can file complaints directly to this body on any matter.
|
On April 17 2012 19:29 Noam wrote:
I think that some non-commissioned officer or a sergeant should not have enough authority to dismiss rape charges.
And why are the female soldiers reporting it to them in the first place? You don't go to your boss when a co-worker rapes you, you go to the police. There must be somewhere else soldiers can report this to? The military police?
And in case the entire military tries to hide this by discharging them under false claims like the article suggests, there should be an external system that can handle that as well. For example the Israeli defense department has an external body headed by a civilian with authority to investigate any part of the military, and any solider and their family members can file complaints directly to this body on any matter.
That's the main problem. The system is set up so there isn't an external body, and they report it to their officer instead.
|
On April 17 2012 19:23 MooseMasher wrote:
Also, I find it ironic to call for proper mental checking of people wanting to have as their job to kill other people...
it's not their job to kill other people but to protect the people of their country, i hope everyone protecting me has a healthy mind.
On April 17 2012 19:23 Omnipresent wrote:
... the Catholic Church has shielded child molesters in its ranks.
wtf? when did they shield child molesters?!
|
On April 17 2012 19:35 gugarutz wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2012 19:23 Omnipresent wrote:
... the Catholic Church has shielded child molesters in its ranks. wtf? when did they shield child molesters?!
...for much of the twentieth century the official policy in use was to persuade families who reported abuse to the church not to go to the law, to move abusive priests to a different parishes following reports, and not to report the crimes to local law enforcement but rather to handle the matter internally.
|
I said it before and I'll say it again, but I feel the military is no place for women. Not because of sexist reasons but war and whatnot doesn't exactly bring out the best in people, and these are just examples on how that could turn out..
Edit: It seems to be a survival of the fittest, and if some of these women arent strong enough to defend themselves against the others then I just think its to dangerous.
User was temp banned for this post.
|
On April 17 2012 20:54 B.I.G. wrote:
I said it before and I'll say it again, but I feel the military is no place for women. Not because of sexist reasons but war and whatnot doesn't exactly bring out the best in people, and these are just examples on how that could turn out..
Edit: It seems to be a survival of the fittest, and if some of these women arent strong enough to defend themselves against the others then I just think its to dangerous.
It wouldn't be a problem if our military held women to the same physical standards/requirements as men, instead of the current policy of having two sets of standards.
User was temp banned for this post.
|
On April 17 2012 19:32 RedJustice wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2012 19:29 Noam wrote:
I think that some non-commissioned officer or a sergeant should not have enough authority to dismiss rape charges.
And why are the female soldiers reporting it to them in the first place? You don't go to your boss when a co-worker rapes you, you go to the police. There must be somewhere else soldiers can report this to? The military police?
And in case the entire military tries to hide this by discharging them under false claims like the article suggests, there should be an external system that can handle that as well. For example the Israeli defense department has an external body headed by a civilian with authority to investigate any part of the military, and any solider and their family members can file complaints directly to this body on any matter. That's the main problem. The system is set up so there isn't an external body, and they report it to their officer instead.
Which sounds like exactly the thing thats wrong.
Every system needs a controlling body that is _not_ part of the system to prevent corruption, otherwise they only way to report problems can be the exact person causing those problems... and he's not likely to report to the higher ups that he is either corrupt or simply incompetent.
Sad for the women but i hope it will cause some good changes...
+ Show Spoiler +though i have a bad feeling it will be swept under the carpet like so many other soldier-related problems
|
On April 17 2012 20:54 B.I.G. wrote:
I said it before and I'll say it again, but I feel the military is no place for women. Not because of sexist reasons but war and whatnot doesn't exactly bring out the best in people, and these are just examples on how that could turn out..
Edit: It seems to be a survival of the fittest, and if some of these women arent strong enough to defend themselves against the others then I just think its to dangerous.
No-one can defend themselves from every threat at every time. You are supposed to be able to utterly rely on your comrades in arms, and not to need to defend yourself from them. If soldiers can't rely on each other in combat then military operations fall apart.
The problem isn't that these women didn't "defend themselves", it is that some soldiers raped them.
If those soldiers are willing to do that to people they serve alongside, who have military training, what would they be willing to do to the civilians they encounter on deployment? And what reaction would this level of indifference in the response of the command to accusations engender in a population already unhappy with the military presence?
|
On April 17 2012 19:25 Bobgrimly wrote:
I think this issue is silly to discuss. You put women ... amongst people trained to ignore morals... and then act surprised when the standard results that have been happening for hundreds upon thousands of years happens.
How very true.
Also as stated in the first post I believe, rape accusations do not need witnesses or anything else, just the testimony of the "victim". Maybe false accusations in the military are as common as outside of it, so the superiors treat those with a grain of salt.
|
I would like to contradict the claim in the OP that this is not the usual "abuse in the workplace". You see this is where the real problem, the real seed of discrimination lie. Once we begin to rationalized degrees of opportunities and incidence of abuse, then we begin to normalize certain abuses. I daresay call for total equality between genders, with abuses to women, regardless of the mitigating or aggravating circumstance met with utmost punishment. You see this is not an if-but situation, there is no conditions to these. It is a simple matter of one, usually a man, taking advantage of power simply because he can. That is why this is a serious and black and white issue.
|
On April 17 2012 21:06 Kuni wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2012 19:25 Bobgrimly wrote:
I think this issue is silly to discuss. You put women ... amongst people trained to ignore morals... and then act surprised when the standard results that have been happening for hundreds upon thousands of years happens.
How very true. Also as stated in the first post I believe, rape accusations do not need witnesses or anything else, just the testimony of the "victim". Maybe false accusations in the military are as common as outside of it, so the superiors treat those with a grain of salt.
You mean about as common as for other indexed crimes, once cases in which guidelines for determining if a report is false or not are not followed are ignored. (2-3% in the largest and most rigorous studies)
|
The DSM-IV is a classification; somewhat influenced by the current state of psychology in the US but it's not a book written as a law, it's just guidelines. If you want to accuse someone of failing to identify the symptoms, you should blame the professional who isn't using his experience and better judgement. Otherwise it would be like accusing the Bible of being responsible for child molesting by priests.
For me it's just look like the professional had an order and he followed it. It's the army after all, the brightest mind of our time aren't soldiers.
|
On April 17 2012 21:06 Kuni wrote:Show nested quote +On April 17 2012 19:25 Bobgrimly wrote:
I think this issue is silly to discuss. You put women ... amongst people trained to ignore morals... and then act surprised when the standard results that have been happening for hundreds upon thousands of years happens.
How very true. Also as stated in the first post I believe, rape accusations do not need witnesses or anything else, just the testimony of the "victim". Maybe false accusations in the military are as common as outside of it, so the superiors treat those with a grain of salt.
This line of thought could make some sense if, you know, there was any logic in women doing something that, as seen by this and multiple other articles, only causes them more harm.Aside from petty, unrealistic dramatic motives like love related revenge, they have absolutely nothing to gain from reporting a rape, quite the contrary, so pardon me if I remain skeptical about these accusations being untrue.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
