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Assault Harassment in the U.S Military
Sexual assault and harassment is a big problem that has been going on in the military of The United States despite the fact that there have been many initiatives outlined to end the vice. This issue has received broad media exposure in the past several years. The survey conducted by the department of defense in 2012 reveals that about 26,000 women and men were sexually assaulted in the hand of the military. The impact of sexual abuse on the army towards the victims ideally affects their psychological and physical health. These crimes consistently contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder in female, depression, substance abuse along with eating disorders. Evidently, a broad range of medically inexplicable physical symptoms has been linked to sexual assaults from the military (Rand Corporation, 2016, p67). Ending assault harassment on the army is necessary to safeguard human rights, ensure military readiness as well as address the issue of health care concerns. Therefore, this essay seeks to evaluate whether there is assault harassment in the U.S military.
There has been increasing concern regarding sexual assault and harassment in all the branches of the United States’ military. Sexual harassment jeopardizes the welfare of the army concerning readiness as well as mission accomplishment by weakening interpersonal bonds and unit cohesion. Sexual assault is more closely intertwined in the military than in most civilians. For instance, rape is a common problem among U.S military and is typically not an isolated experience since sources suggest that for the year 2010 to 2011, a considerable increase was reported at the three U.S armed forces academies. Sexual assault in the Army has been linked to the use of alcohol, and it has resulted in the increase of sexual violence. Alcohol consumption plays a vital role in about half of all rape cases. In the fiscal year 2013, cases of rape from the military academy made within the army were involved in alcohol. This kind of harassment occurs when the perpetrator, the victim or both have consumed alcohol. Substantially, drinking can lead to many issues such as sexual desire, aggression, and misinterpretation of responses from the victims as well as an increase in risk taking. Apparently, the United States military has become open and gives reports on rates these cases among its military officers. It is also looking for better and effective solutions and initiatives to curb these unlawful acts. [“Write my essay for me?” Get help here.]
Assault harassment is another aspect that is common and experienced in the military especially among women. In the past one year, approximately 116,600 active-component service members reported cases were of sexual harassments. Significantly, women experienced a higher rate as compared to men. Unit leaders commit the violations of assault harassment in the department of defense. Reporting cases of sexual harassment is very difficult and complicated in the military. Bearing in mind that these are offences committed by seniors, reporting such would bear no fruits more so could land one into more trouble. This assault creates a need for medical attention to the victim since the victim is left in fear of an imminent rape, sodomy, molestation as well as other related sex crimes. The United States’ military is made up of more men as compared to women. Assault Harassment is reported on the daily basis and in 2015 the numbers of cases of male officers who reported or experienced sexual harassment outnumbered those cases reported from women. Sexual harassment interrelates with sexual assault and is closely correlated. Moreover, the involvement of the military in the assault harassment has resulted in many injuries that are caused to the victims. [Need an essay writing service? Find help here.]
Many people believe that sexual assault is the one and only type of harassment that can happen in the U.S military. It is evident that sexual harassment is perhaps one of the most common forms of harassing behavior. Assault harassment results in gender discrimination in the U.S military. An individual can be harassed because she is a woman. In most modern legal contexts, sexism is more than personal prejudice. This is a negative valuing and discriminatory treatment of women in the military based on their sex. The aspect of sexism is manifested in the U.S military in both personal attack and insults. Sexism can be presented in hostile acts and apparently neutral arrangements. This aspect can be as a result of activities set to discriminate or arise from ignorance, and it can be detected through its effects. Gender integration could also be among the contributing factors towards sexual assault cases in female officers in the military. Military services have been known to have some inherent characteristics and restrictions. There are restrictions on what positions or ranks for specific age and sex, something that is present within the United States’ military. In most of cases, males are allowed to occupy most of the top positions in the military than females which is a clear indicator that female service members in the military are not that significant as compared to their male counterparts. Practices of sexism are expressed by individual behavior based on the policies and procedures of the military. Thus, the military justice system needs real reform.
There are some allegations associated with the U.S military based on assault harassment. Lawmakers and activists in the United States have backed the UN Human Rights Council in the process of evaluation of the cases of alleged sexual harassment from the military. Nevertheless, assaults from the military contribute to the risks such as behavioral and emotional consequences of the first abuse (Chaney & Merril, 2012, p46). The aspect of military culture in the U.S is the most vulnerable component towards sexual assault. In the United States there are always movements of the military officers from one duty station to another. This exercise of movement tends to create opportune moments for assault to new service members in the duty station by older member. Such a situation makes the attacked members not to report the crimes because they are new to the station. Additionally, assault harassment is common in the U.S military through leadership responsibility. The command climate dictates sexual assaults and sexual harassments. [Click Essay Writer to order your essay]
Majority of veterans, in most cases those that were once victim of sexual harassment, are on the forefront of eliminating sexual assault in the U.S. military. Panayiota Bertkikis went ahead to form Military Rape Crisis Center with the aim of offering free advice and counseling for sexual assault victims in the military. Veterans also take part in interviews about sexual assault in the military conducted by journalist and other civilians with the aim of enlightening the society. For instance, through interviewing veterans and other victims, Helen Benedict was able to writer her book “The Loneliest Soldier”. This book laid foundations for documentaries and movies depicting the same for instance, Kiby went ahead to producea movie that included some live recordings of interviews which were aired with the interviewee’s consent (Andrew et al. 2012). Both the book and the movie achieved their objective of telling the society of whatever was going on behind the walls of barracks.
In conclusion, assault harassment within the military in the U.S represents a significant threat to performance degradation and military readiness. It is of great importance to seek sustainable strategies that are needed to end this behavior in the army department since the assault damages the image of the service men and women. Some of the strategies include changing the culture as well as leadership in the armed forces department, employing skill training and psycho-education to prevent sexual assault. The United States should also make amendments to laws regulations in the military so as to allow victims to report sexual assault and harassment cases without fear. Therefore, through the sources, assault harassment in the U.S military is widespread and such actions significantly hinder the performance of the military.
References
Chaney, & Merrill . (2012). Sexual assault and harassment in the U.S. military. New York: Nova Science Pub.
Rand Corporation. (2016). Sexual assault and harassment in the U.S. military: Evaluating estimates from the 2014 RAND military workplace study. Santa Monica, Calif: Author
Andrew R. Morral, Kristie L. Gore, Terry L. Schell (ed). (2014). Sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. military. Santa Monica, Calif: Rand Corporation
