Author: Nicolette Gendron
As “The Guardian” of London has reported, the U.S. military has “a dirty little secret.” In the year 2010, 3,158 sexual crimes were reported across American armed forces. A mere 104 of those reports resulted in courtroom convictions.
The report demonstrates a precipitous fall-off for the military’s record of protecting its own. In the 1940s, the military worked diligently to redefine its image, tolerating soldiers of diverse race, gender and sexuality.
Now, seventy years later, the U.S. government and its military leadership must confront the reality that its soldiers face threats as often from their fellow service people as they do from the enemy fought on the battlefield. What’s worse, those who try to seek justice often find that the superiors to whom they must report to are the perpetrators themselves. The situation demands action now.
In filmmaker Kirby Dick’s documentary “The Invisible War,” Trina McDonald, who served in the US Navy, explained how coming forward to report her rape by a superior officer felt impossible. It should come as no surprise, as many victims have been raped by their superiors – those same people who by virtue of their higher ranks are those to whom the rape must be reported.
These higher-ranking individuals like the senior chief of command, Coast Guard investigators (CGI), local base police and the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) cannot be the only source of recompense. Whereas rape is viewed in almost any other societal context as a crime worthy of extensive investigation and severe punishment, in the US military rape is, apparently, often considered simply a breach of good conduct.
To effectively reduce military rape and expedite the procedure in which victims can report their rape, there must be a military service that exists separate from services like CGI, SAPRO and unit commanders. Victims must not feel that they will be blacklisted by their unit, retaliated against or that their report will be altered by higher military officials with no desire to help rape victims seek justice.
Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP), a program issued by the Department of Veteran Affairs, is one of these programs that allows victims to report their rape as either “restricted” or “unrestricted” depending on the kind of legal action and treatment they would like to pursue. Although the military is making strides, these are small ones considering the vast numbers of soldiers who received unwanted sexual contact but have still refused to report it.
Dick’s attempt to shed light on a subject that has been ignored for years represents what must happen on a much larger scale. His documentary, which brought national attention to the rampant rape in the US military, tells the story of victims who joined the military to serve their country. What they received in return was only a blind eye to an epidemic of crime.
Ultimately, soldiers like McDonald and Los Angeles’ own anti-military rape activist Maricella Guzman redefine military courage. Courageous enough to risk their lives in the name of America, these women harnessed true courage by telling their stories and speaking out against a judicial system that failed time and time again. Most importantly, their courage to speak out against their male superiors who doubled as their rapists is affecting change in the systems that permitted the crimes against them.
The lessons to be drawn from their work extend well beyond military life and to all those who insist that the American military be the most moral in the world. The status quo is unjust, and the U.S. government must continue to implement new policies so that military rapists are not excused but successfully reported, investigated and convicted.
Nicolette Gendron is an undeclared first-year. She can be reached at gendron@oxy.edu.
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