Women & War

Surprisingly enough, I had never actually considered everything that women have to deal with during wartime, particularly rape used exclusively as a weapon or power tactic. I thought last Thursday's presenters did a great job narrowing down their broad topic into U.S. women soldiers, women suicide bombers, and women who were raped during war. My small group talked about the NPR article concerning U.S. women soldiers as victims of sexual assault by their fellow male soldiers (so absurd!).

To begin, it seems most tragic to me that our country's military has such a weak program to aid women who've been or are continually being sexually assaulted by their fellow (male) soldiers who're of higher rank. It's so unfair that female soldiers must deal on a daily basis with threats of enemy attacks as well as threats of sexual attacks by their own comrades...no wonder these poor women suffer from PTSD upon returning home!

Something that I thought of during my group's discussion on this topic: If U.S. soldiers are assaulting their fellow U.S. soldiers, are some also assaulting foreign female civilians? If this is the case (doesn't seem too impossible), wouldn't it increase the rate of sexually transmitted diseases among Americans? It seems so backwards...some men (stereotypically macho men who are...(big surprise)...in the military) have this belief that rape and sexual assault stems from males' biological/evolutionary need to pass on their genes. Personally, I think that's a ton of bullshit.

It seems like the U.S. Military is doing a little bit about the problem, but I feel like they'll have to do more if they expect a real change. Women soldiers are still afraid to go around the chain of command to report a sexual assault because they are, more often than not, demoted in rank while their offenders get a mere slap on the wrist on their way to prey on another female comrade. Strong-willed men in leadership roles who respect women (some MUST be out there...) need to stand up and set an example for everyone else. They need to raise awareness, because the stuff that's happening is bound to eventually end pretty badly.