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Violence Against Women in the Military

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Title: Violence Against Women in the Military


1
Violence Against Women in the Military
  • Martin Donohoe

2
Outline
  • Definitions
  • History
  • Data
  • Characteristics of abuse victims/perpetrators
  • Consequences of abuse (including PTSD)
  • Recent developments (DOD Review,
    Iraq/Afghanistan, available programs)
  • Advice for female armed services members
  • Reducing VAW in the military

3
Violence Against Women
  • Direct physical, sexual, emotional
  • Global health burden comparable to that of HIV,
    tuberculosis, and cardiovascular disease
  • Institutional social, legal, educational, and
    political marginalization

4
Rape as a War Crime
  • Common (comfort women of WW II Japan, Sudan,
    Rwanda, Bosnia, etc.)
  • Notions of war/militarism and excessive
    masculinity
  • gt 300 rapes of Japanese citizens committed by
    U.S. personnel since 1945
  • Adverse effects on military agreements, support
    for U.S. troops

5
Women in the U.S. Military
  • More than 210,000 women are on active US military
    duty
  • 1.8 million female veterans (out of 23 million
    total veterans)
  • Almost 60,000 female troops have been deployed in
    Iraq and Afghanistan
  • 1 in 7 US military personnel in Iraq is female

6
Victims
  • Active duty troops
  • Army gt Marines gt Navy gt Air Force
  • Female, civilian spouses of active duty personnel

7
Recent History
  • Tailhook Convention (1991)
  • Aberdeen Proving Grounds sexual assaults (1996)
  • Homicides, suicides among returning vets

8
Violence and Homicides
  • 1997-2001 gt10,000 cases of spouse abuse per year
    occurred in the armed forces
  • 14 homicides
  • Likely a large underestimate (e.g., girlfriends
    not counted, under-reporting)
  • 1995-2004 218 domestic murders in the US military

9
Violence
  • 2007-2010 18 increase in alleged sexual
    assaults committed by U.S. service members
  • Pentagon acknowledges 80 of rapes never reported
  • Child maltreatment more common during deployments
  • Suggests victims becoming perpetrators

10
Violence and Sexual Assault Among Active Duty
Soldiers and Veterans
  • Multiple studies with widely varying percentages
    see long version of this slide show at phsj.org
  • Active duty military
  • Abuse rates 20-35
  • Sexual assault rates 17 to 33

11
Violence and Sexual Assault Among Active Duty
Soldiers and Veterans
  • Female veterans
  • Abuse rates 24-70
  • Sexual assault rates 20-42
  • Veterans reporting history of sexual harassment
    90 lt 50 yo 35 gt 50 yo

12
Female Perpetrators
  • Female on male violence more common in military
    than among civilians
  • Moderate aggression 13 vs. 10
  • Severe aggression 4.4 vs. 2
  • LGBT violence under-reported
  • Lack of provider awareness
  • Dont ask / dont tell
  • One study found higher percentages of aggression
    among female ADM than among male ADM

13
Common Characteristics ofAbuse Victims
  • low self-esteem
  • guilt
  • self-blame
  • denial
  • traditional attitudes regarding womens roles
  • have children
  • poor financial resources
  • few job skills
  • less education
  • few friends
  • history of childhood abuse

14
Common Characteristicsof Abusers
  • low self-esteem
  • dependency
  • jealousy
  • poor communication skills
  • unemployed/underemployed

15
Common Characteristicsof Abusers
  • abuse alcohol/other drugs
  • have witnessed or experienced abuse as children
  • if immigrants, are more likely to have been
    victims of political violence
  • abuse their own children

16
Military families face unique stressors, which
increase the risk for family violence
  • Relocations
  • Long work tours
  • Frequent family separations
  • Dangerous work assignments

17
Combat stress and PTSD increase likelihood of
males perpetrating abuse
  • Veterans with combat exposure and PTSD have more
    marital problems
  • 1/3 of male veterans with PTSD engage in partner
    violence
  • Rate 2-3X higher than that for non-PTSD veterans
    and non-PTSD civilians

18
Victims More Likely to Report
  • Chronic health problems (esp. gyn)
  • Lower health-related quality of life
  • Prescription medication use for emotional
    problems
  • Failure to complete college
  • Annual income lt 25,000
  • Depression (3X higher rate)
  • Alcohol abuse (2X higher rate)

19
Victims
  • History of childhood violence and post-military
    violence more common
  • High levels of secondary victimization
  • Feelings of guilt
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Distrust of others
  • Reluctance to seek further help

20
PTSD
  • Risk of PTSD after sexual assault similar in both
    female and male veterans to that seen following
    high levels of combat exposure
  • Female veterans who had suffered sexual assault
    while in the military 9X more likely to have PTSD

21
PTSD Patients
  • Males 6.5 of combat veterans and 16.5 of
    non-combat veterans reported in-service or
    post-service sexual assault
  • Females 69 of combat veterans and 87 of
    non-combat veterans reported in-service or
    post-service sexual assault
  • Combat and sexual assault are the 2 most potent
    predictors of PTSD

22
Under-reporting by victims and spouses
  • Concern about husbands prospects for continued
    service and promotion
  • Perceived/real lack of confidentiality and
    privacy
  • Limited victim services

23
Under-reporting by victims and spouses
  • Fear of retaliation and damage to their careers
    or being portrayed as disloyal
  • Those who do report are often punished,
    intimidated, or ostracized
  • Perpetrators of the most vicious crimes often
    transferred to another base or offered marriage
    counseling and anger management classes in lieu
    of more severe punishment

24
Under-reporting by victims and spouses
  • 48 of female active duty military think abuse
    should be reported to commanding officer
  • 73 of female ADM (vs. 43 of female civilians)
    think mandatory reporting increases womens risk
    of further abuse
  • 82 of ADM think routine screening makes women
    less likely to disclose abuse to a health care
    provider

25
Prosecution and Punishment Rare, Promotion not
Uncommon for Perpetrators
  • Since 1992, nearly 5000 accused sex offenders in
    the Army, including rapists, have avoided
    prosecution and the possibility of prison time
  • 1988-1993 80 of abusers who left the military
    received honorable discharges
  • Of those who remained in the military, 54 were
    promoted (compared with 65 of the overall
    military population)

26
Iraq and Afghanistan
  • 1/7 female veterans of these conflicts seeking
    medical care at the VA had suffered sexual trauma
    (2008 study)
  • A deployed female soldier is more likely to be
    raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy
    fire

27
Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Many victims did not receive basic medical care
  • emergency contraception
  • rape evidence kits
  • testing for sexually transmitted infections
  • prophylactic treatment or testing for HIV
  • rape crisis counseling

28
Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Prosecution of crimes often delayed indefinitely
  • Many servicewomen continued to serve in the same
    unit with their assailants

29
Iraq
  • Disturbing reports of sexual abuse and
    humiliation at the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo
    military prisons
  • Five American soldiers allegedly raped and
    murdered a young Iraqi woman, burned her body,
    and killed three members of her family in their
    home

30
Recent Developments
  • 1999 VA mandates that all veterans (male and
    female) be screened for military sexual trauma
  • Compliance still low
  • DOD Policy Review notes major problems
  • 2005 Congress establishes Sexual Assault
    Prevention and Response Office within the Defense
    Department
  • 2008 director ordered by DOD superiors not to
    testify before Congress re problems with office

31
Recent Developments
  • DOD requires health care provider training on
    domestic violence
  • Domestic violence advocates program and family
    support programs in place
  • Utilization still low
  • Civilian perpetrators barred from bases
  • Military police to work with local law enforcement

32
Victim Assistance
  • U.S. Armys transitional compensation program
    provides financial and other benefits to the
    families of service members discharged for child
    or spouse maltreatment, including victim
    assistance and offender rehabilitation

33
Victim Assistance
  • VA provides lifetime sexual assault victims
    counseling to all military veterans
  • After one leaves the service
  • Most counseled patients are males, who suffer
    lower rates of sexual assault but make up a large
    majority of veterans

34
Recent Developments
  • Military Domestic Violence and Sexual Response
    Act
  • Would reduce sexual assault and domestic violence
    involving members of the Armed Forces and their
    family members and partners through enhanced
    programs of prevention and deterrence, enhanced
    programs of victims services, and strengthened
    provisions for prosecution of assailants
  • In House and Senate subcommittees since mid 2009

35
Advice for Female Armed Services Members
  • Women on the front lines, who risk capture and
    being held as a prisoner of war (which puts them
    at even higher risk for sexual assault), should
    strongly consider commencing birth control
    pre-deployment with an intrauterine device or
    implant

36
Advice for Female Armed Services Members
  • Victims should report abuse and consider
    contacting local domestic violence organizations
    or the Miles Foundation, a Connecticut-based
    advocacy group for military victims of domestic
    violence (telephone 203-270-7861 Web page
    http//hometown.aol.com/milesfdn/myhomepage/

37
Reducing Violence Against Women in the Military
  • Change in the sexist ideologies and practices
    long associated with militarism and war
  • Improvements in victim services, including
    enhanced confidentiality
  • Appointment of a central authority within the DOD
    to investigate and prosecute violent crimes
  • Enhanced curricular offerings to teach trainees
    and practicing clinicians how to recognize and
    manage the sequelae of domestic violence

38
Reducing Violence Against Women in the Military
  • Increased funding of domestic violence shelters
  • Laws to decrease the easy availability of
    firearms
  • More funding for research, treatment, and
    prevention
  • Changes in law and policy to protect victims and
    to improve the status of women

39
International Vehicles to Decrease Violence
Against Women
  • Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
    Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Calls for
    equality of the sexes in political, social,
    cultural, civil, and other fields

40
International Vehicles to Decrease Violence
Against Women
  • UN Security Council Resolution 1325 Mandates
    protection of, and respect for, human rights of
    women and girls and calls on all parties to armed
    conflict to take specific measures to protect
    women and girls from gender-based violence,
    particularly rape and sexual violence

41
International Vehicles to Decrease Violence
Against Women
  • International Criminal Court (ICC), established
    in 2002 Codifies accountability for gender-based
    crimes against women during military conflict by
    defining sexual and gender violence of all kinds
    as war crimes

42
International Vehicles to Decrease Violence
Against Women
  • U.S. has not ratified CEDAW, signed UNSCR 1325,
    nor signed on to the ICC
  • U.S. should show its commitment to improving
    women's rights worldwide by taking action on
    these items
  • The women and men who risk their lives in service
    to the ideals for which the United States ideally
    stands deserve no less.

43
Contact Information, Slide Shows, References, etc.
  • Public Health and Social Justice Website
  • http//www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org
  • http//www.phsj.org
  • martindonohoe_at_phsj.org
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