A Civilian’s Story
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The author (left) with SWAN executive director (center) and board member (right), both veterans.
Command discretion. Enlistees and officers. PTSD. Courts-martial. Military Sexual Trauma. The military institution is replete with unfamiliar language whose connotations and meanings are best understood by those who have served. As a civilian employee working on gender and military issues at the Service Women’s Action Network, learning this terminology was a job in itself, as knowing the simple definitions of these words can hardly capture the implications and meanings of military culture. In many ways, the different language symbolizes the vast difference between life and employment in the military versus the civilian spheres—we speak different languages because we live and work in different worlds.
Kicking and Screaming
As the National Defense Authorization Act moves closer to a vote, one of the more exciting things it will do is pull the powdered wig off of military law and drag it kicking and screaming out of the 18th century. The NDAA not only gets rid of the archaic, intrusive, and rarely enforced sodomy statute – which has its roots in Assyrian law dating back to 1075 B.C.E. – it also revises the confusing and nearly incomprehensible rape law, Article 120, by making it simpler for investigators, prosecutors and the courts to understand. To give you some idea of how confusing the current statue is, the military has to send around mobile training teams to instruct personnel on how to make sense out of Article 120 and conduct a proper rape trial.
Although the proposed changes are substantive and will greatly help, the revisions to Article 120 do not go far enough to ensure offenders are convicted, military rapes decline, and most importantly that the military culture that foments these acts of sexual violence changes.
Institutionalized Sexual Violence: “Connecting the Dots” between the U.S. Military and the NYPD
Kala Ganesh introduces the coalition.
Service Women’s Action Network is proud to have recently joined Connect the Dots, a new coalition against violence against women. Our first direct action was this morning in Foley Square to demand the maximum possible sentence for former NYPD officers Mata and Moreno, who were charged with “official misconduct” but acquitted of raping an intoxicated woman they were escorting home. The sentencing, which was scheduled for 10am today, has been postponed for a month amid a whirlwind of controversy and outrage. Between now and then, Connect the Dots intends to raise awareness not only about the case but about how this one instance of assault connects to the larger crisis of violence against women.
Is PTSD contagious?
Photo by Leah Hogsten
By Marti D. Ribeiro
I was friends with a Marine who fought in the battle of Fallujah and who saw the worst that humanity had to offer. He came home a broken man, and within weeks PTSD took over his life. His personality changed and he couldn’t function without alcohol running through his system. It was horrible to watch this decorated Marine melt into a mess of tears and alcohol.
While I always felt his PTSD was “justified” in a way, his wife’s behavior after he returned home always seemed bizarre to me. During his downward spiral into darkness, she fell into a deep depression. She refused to hold a job or do basic things like clean the house or take a shower. While normally a very pretty woman, she quit taking care of both herself and her husband. When talking with her, she’d drone on and on about having “secondary PTSD;” she developed the same symptoms as her husband.
Anu Bhagwati and Greg Jacob Discuss GAO Report
SWAN’s Executive Director Anu Bhagwati and Policy Director Greg Jacob break down gender discrimination in the military and the GAO report on sexual assault investigations with CNN.com.
Photo from CNN.com.
From the Director’s Desk – Friday June 24th
Dear Friends of SWAN,
As the President draws down troop levels in Afghanistan, it is critical that we maintain pressure on our policymakers to ensure the safety and rights of our servicemembers and veterans. Whether or not our nation is at war, women and men in the armed forces will face the same threat from sexual predators in the ranks, until the military takes the necessary steps to reform: 1. Victims’ rights and protections; 2. Commander accountability; and 3. The prosecution and court-martial systems.
Snot Rockets and Rhinestones
By Marti D. Ribeiro
Recently, I was asked for a copy of my resume for a potential job offer. I obliged and waited patiently to hear back from the potential future employer. I received a visit from a contact at this potential new employer who had reviewed my resume and was interested in hiring me.
“Great!” I thought.
But, my moment of excitement turned quickly into slight dismay. They wanted copies of my military discharge and VA disability paperwork. I didn’t have a problem with that; most employers get some sort of “credit” for hiring a disabled vet. But, what put me on edge was not the fact they wanted to verify my previous employment, or my disability; it was that some of the people in the new company had a hard time believing that I was a veteran.
A Real No-Brainer
I opened the paper this morning and was greeted by yet another story of how women are serving, fighting and dying in combat.
“Servicewomen have died in all of America’s wars, but usually they were support personnel such as nurses and clerks. In Afghanistan, most women who have died were killed in combat situations, as Specialist Snyder was, despite the military’s official prohibition on women in combat jobs.
The same has been true in Iraq, where 111 female soldiers have died, according to data compiled by icasualties.org, an independent organization that tracks military fatalities. In both wars, 60 percent of those deaths are classified by the military as due to hostile acts.
Wars with no clear front lines have put women in harm’s way more than ever before, blurring the boundaries between combat jobs that are outlawed for women, and support jobs that are often as dangerous and in some cases even more so.”
LGBT Pride . . . and Promise
LGBT Pride month has produced some glimmers of hope for the future of LGBT servicemembers and veterans. As DADT repeal implementation trudges on, there are individuals in the force, personnel in the VA and, of course, legislators and advocates demonstrating incredible leadership and courage in demanding not only hasty repeal, but respect for and active inclusion of LGBT servicemembers and veterans in anticipation of that repeal.
Perspectives From a Tattooed Arm
I have lots of tattoos. A full sleeve covers my arm and plenty more. I got my first tattoo when I was 18 and they were still illegal in South Carolina. I drove to Asheville, NC by myself and got a very small phoenix on my lower back. In my mind, it was a declaration of my independence and I was proud that I didn’t need anyone to be with me and that there was no pressure involved. I didn’t get any other tattoos until I joined the Army. I was 21 then and learned pretty quickly that tattoos are very much a part of military culture. As my military experience progressed, I got a few more tattoos here and there but they were all black with no color or shading and in rather innocuous places. I remember when I made the decision to get a tattoo on my upper arm. At the time it was a BIG deal to me because it was a tattoo that could be seen and judged by others. At that point in my life, I was still very concerned with what people thought of me and getting a visible tattoo was my first conscious decision to put other people’s perceptions aside and go with what I wanted no matter what others thought. By the time I went to Afghanistan, I had 5 black tattoos in various places all with stories behind them. My Hawaiian turtles were based out of an experience that taught me to always enjoy what I have at any given time because you never know when those things are going to go away. My tattoo on my wrist is Y.A.M.F.O.D. which stands for You Are My Favorite Oldest Daughter and is a tribute to my mother’s emails and letters and of course, her love for me since I was a child. It’s this tattoo and the one that is described in the following recollection that have the most meaning to me of them all.
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From the Director’s Desk – Friday, June 17th
Dear Friends of SWAN,
I hope this note finds you enjoying the beginnings of summer, wherever you may be!
In the last three years, SWAN has rapidly grown. New veterans, servicemembers and military supporters are discovering our work each day, and we are excited to develop new relationships and explore better ways of serving our client population. As we continue to serve some of the most underserved veterans and servicemembers, misconceptions in our own military and veterans community remain a challenge in our ability to help all. So we thought it might help to remind you about who we are and what we’re committed to doing at SWAN.
Founded by women veterans, SWAN is a pro-military, non-partisan advocacy organization that is dedicated to equality for military women. It is our vision to transform military culture by securing equal opportunity and the freedom to serve in uniform without threat of harassment, discrimination, intimidation or assault. SWAN also seeks to reform veterans’ services on a national scale to guarantee equal access to quality health care, benefits and resources for women veterans and their families.
SASC Completes Markup of 2012 National Defense Authorization Act
Senate Committee on Armed Services Completes Markup of 2012 Defense Bill
Included are groundbreaking provisions that would help eliminate military rape and sexual assault, and ensure the continued implementation of DADT repeal
Today the Senate Armed Services Committee completed the mark up for the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and included amendments in the bill that would help stem the epidemic of military rape and sexual assault and ignored amendments that would delay the implementation process for repealing the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Sexual Assault Provisions
The Committee approved an amendment offered by Senator Collins (R-ME) that requires the military to implement some of the recommendations of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services (DTFSAMS) based upon Senate bill S. 1018, the Defense STRONG Act introduced by Senator Kerry (D-MA).
Primmum Non Nocere
As if women’s vulnerability to sexual assault wasn’t high enough, the Florida State Board of Medicine recently ruled that an ex-Air Force doctor who is a convicted rapist may be permitted to retain his medical license and practice in governmental facilities, including the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical centers. In light of the recent report that found a horrifying number of rapes are occurring at VA hospitals (including medical personnel assaulting patients), the Board’s decision is especially insidious.
In 2008, a military court-martial convicted Dr. Mark Allen Seldes of raping a female colleague after she had taken a sleeping pill. Many military sexual predators do not receive punishments that fit their crimes, and Seldes is no exception, as he was sentenced to only three years of confinement. Now a free man, Seldes now has at his disposal the power, control, and authority that comes with medical professional positions (and that can easily be abused) to possibly rape again. This prediction is not unlikely given that sexual offenders are likely to be serial rapists who commit more than one sexually violent crime in their lifetime, and moreover, these rapes are likely to go undetected.
Scathing Review of Sexual Assault at VA Facilities Released
This week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a scathing report detailing how the Department of Veterans Affairs is failing at both preventing and tracking sexual assaults at VA facilities across the country. The report focused on a lack of oversight, inconsistent procedures, and weaknesses in protective measures. The report went on to enumerate numerous problems and made recommendations for how the VA might start to address these serious issues.
The review found that from January of 2007 to July of 2010, nearly 300 sexual assault incidents were reported to VA Police.
The Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women: National Advocacy Strategies
Despite a historic blizzard that shut down the mid-Atlantic region in February 2010, an intimate meeting of gender and human rights advocates from all over the country took place in Charlottesville, Virginia with the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo. Fortunately, Rashida was in town already for a three week residency at the University of Virginia School of Law. Participants (pictured below right) included: IntLawGrrls guest/alumna Prof. Carrie Bettinger-López, Director of the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law; Anu Bhagwati, Service Women's Action Network (SWAN)
Rashida had already submitted a formal request to the United States government for an official mission under her mandate. Her interest in focusing on the United States, she explained, was triggered by the UN Human Rights Council's (and the UN in general's) shift to a more even-handed approach, which aims to ensure that scrutiny extends beyond the global South. Rashida said that she always hears statements about violence against women (VAW) being a serious problem in Asia or in Africa. “We must look at VAW through a global, universal lens, with some specificities, of course,” she noted.
In 1998, the first U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Radhika Coomaraswamy undertook an official United States mission in which she focused particularly on women in custodial settings. Rashida wanted to include some follow-up to Radhika’s 1999 prison report.
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