By: Ashton Bothman and Meghan Raab
Rape is not a word that slips off the tongue smoothly or enters the ear gracefully. Even more taboo is the sound of the words "rape" and "U.S. military" within the same sentence. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that a GAO report on July 31, 2008 found that as many as 50% of rape and sexual assault cases are not reported within the military. Rape and sexual assault are often used interchangeably, so, to clarify: sexual assault is an umbrella that encompasses rape.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sexual violence is any sexual act that is forced against someone's will, including: physical, verbal or psychological. There are four types of sexual violence...
1. A completed sex act is defined as contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus involving penetration, however slight, contact between the mouth and penis, vulva, or anus; or penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person by a hand, finger, or other object.
2. An attempted (but not completed) sex act.
3. Abusive sexual contact is defined as intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person.
4. Non-contact sexual abuse is defined as abuse that does not involve physical contact. Examples of non-contact sexual abuse include voyeurism; intentional exposure of an individual to exhibitionism; pornography; verbal or behavioral sexual harassment; threats of sexual violence; and taking nude photographs of a sexual nature of another person.
By definition rape is only a completed sex act. Whew, now that technicalities are out of the way, lets continue...
In the military rape happens, rape goes un-reported, and rape is common. Former Red Cross employee Ingrid Torres explains how she was raped by a military doctor.
Torres is not alone. While working within the actual institution meant to protect our country, all citizens alike, it is appalling to see the number of women who have become victims of such heinous acts--robbed of their most personal freedom. The following testimonies give just a glimpse of the devastation:
"The sexual harassment and abuse began in basic training."
"Maricela Guzman served in the Navy from 1998 to 2002 as a computer technician on the island of Diego Garcia, and later in Naples, Italy. She was raped while in boot camp, but was too scared to talk about the assault for the rest of her time in the military. "
"Like countless others, Guzman learned early that the culture of the military promoted silence about sexual assault. Her experience over the years has convinced her that sexual violence is a systemic problem in the military."
"I was raped. Just that simple."
"I was abducted by 3 local men while at Fleet landing waiting for our liberty boat to arrive, driven to the mountains, beaten and raped. I survived physically- but not emotionally."
"It's not bad enough rape was an accepted fact, but the psychological abuse that came with it was almost harder to handle. "
Let's be honest, being a woman in general has its challenges. While being a female is not nearly as problematic as it has been in the past, the feminist movement has not funneled through every aspect of society. The Military is undoubtedly an example of this. Women do not feel equal, whether they are "one of the boys," or not. From the view of one Vietnam War vet, "Women Can't Fight." His perspective is reiterated in an article by The Tribune-Star. “[Women’s] presence at institutions dedicated to the preparation of men for combat command is poisoning that preparation,” the Navy vet wrote in 1979. “By attempting to sexually sterilize the Naval Academy environment in the name of equality, this country has sterilized the whole process of combat and leadership training, and our military forces are doomed to suffer the consequences.” Almost 30 years later, the problem still exists. USF student, Caitlin Ryan, reports on what it is like to be "just a girl" in the university's ROTC program.
Sexual violence is emotionally overwhelming to begin with, and the challenges women face reporting these unspeakable crimes adds to this pain. The list seems endless: There is an abuse of power. Sadly, a lack of anonymity. And the fear of simply saying it aloud; some feminists call this the "second rape". The latter has been displayed through the stories of all rape victims, not just those within the Military. A quote included above displays this fear--Maricela Guzman had the burden of keeping her rape a secret until she dissociated from the Navy. In an article by IPS News, she describes the emotional turmoil she endured after leaving; her rape became all the more real back at home. It affected every aspect of her personal life because she had not dealt with it: "After undergoing a divorce, a failed suicide attempt and homelessness, she moved in with her parents." She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but after working through her issues, felt "compelled to talk about what happened". The reasons why Guzman felt she could not talk about what happened before leaving the Military are personal; however, it is important to note that there may be a connection to the legal structure of the armed forces. A bi-annual publication of The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs entitled "Connections" details some of these problems in the issue, "Military Culture and Sexual Assault Victims". For example, there are no victim protection statutes. "As a result, what many of us understand as rape shield laws that serve to protect victims from unnecessary discrimination and victim blaming do not exist." Another problem lies in the hierarchical "chain of command" system that has been a staple of the Military since its creation. "Higher ranked persons [have] authority over lower ranked persons." This ladder of authority makes it difficult for victims to step up to the challenge of dealing with instances of sexual violence. Individuals in charge of an entire unit/base are given the responsibility of handling the assaults. This person may know both of the individuals involved, which leaves room for subjectivity. And because "command discretion empowers commanders to decide if the case goes forward to court martial," this is obviously a huge problem. In the New York National Guard a woman by the name of Jen Hogg helped a friend report a sexual assault. The friend was unable to identify the man who harmed her; therefore, once she reported the crime to her drill sergeant, he punished ALL the men and let them know the identity of the victim. “After this incident many of the males said harassing things to her as they passed her during training, so much so that she regretted having addressed the issue,” Hogg continued, “You can be ostracized as the woman who had dared to speak up. Women willing to speak up are trained to shut up, which results in an atmosphere of silence. After my experiences in basic and advanced individual training I never reported an incident again.”
Reporting rape that occurs within the Military is problematic, but what's more disturbing is the steady increase of occurences of sexual violence. During an interview with PBS, Dr. Patricia Resick from the Women's Division National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Department of Veterns Affairs sheds light as to why there has been such a surge in military rape.
This next video is a clip taken from a hearing regarding Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. The woman speaking is her mother Mary Lauterbach. Mary Lauterbach describes how her daughter accused a superior officer of rape, and the case did not go anywhere. More specifically, the military did not take Lauterbach's accusation seriously and dismissed it based on the fact that she was a "compulsive liar". By the time Maria was eleven months pregnant, she went missing; later her remains, along with her unborn child were found in Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean's backyard. Laurean was the same man Lauterbach had accused of sexual assault.
HOW THE MEDIA COVERS RAPE: DIFFICULTIES, INCONSISTENCIES, BIAS
With all of these complications surrounding the sensitive and difficult topic of rape and sexual assault, especially in the military, it comes as no surprise that news outlets are inconsistent with its coverage. Furthermore, while investigating rape allegations, media already shapes audience perceptions. The notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty is a far cry from how media depicts the characters of the story. Automatically, there is a victim and an offender, before a trial takes place.
The front page from the San Francisco Examiner on February 17th, 2009 used extremely large letters reading "USF HOSTS A PREDATOR". A story followed regarding the alleged rape of four USF students by a USF ROTC cadet, Ryan Caskey. This is a free newspaper distributed across the city. On that February morning all San Francisco residents woke to find a headline that caused them to immediately create a negative and guilty predisposition of Caskey, before a trial ever took place. The font was so obnoxiously large that even if a person were to only pick up the paper to dispose of it in his/her recycling bin, the message would not be lost. Of course, the news should report the story, but should they be sensitive to the possibility that Caskey might be innocent? Caskey is more than just an alleged rapist. He is a son, friend, boyfriend, student, cadet, and a human being. Does he not deserve the right to keep his innocence until proven guilty? Some would argue that simply being accused is enough to ruin his reputation. But because of those allegations his name will be forever tarnished, not to mention he received an immediate dismissal from USF: a place he made his home for three years, a place he bravely signed his life over to the army in order to serve and protect his country. But none of those facts were taken into consideration once he became an alleged rapist.
Another consideration news organizations make is whether to share the victims' names. A perfect example of this came from a story regarding two girls who went missing. An amber alert was put into effect and the two girls were found. So, what was the catch? Throughout the days the girls were missing, their names were publicized. However, once they were found, reports said the girls had been brutally raped. Now, news agencies were faced with a moral dilemma. Should the latest reports include the victims' names? Some media chose to print the names, and some did not. But what is the right thing to do? Or asked in another way: what is the ethical thing to do? There wasn't, and still isn't, a cookie cutter recipe for this type of storytelling. (A link to a journal article excerpt discussing whether or not it is appropriate to identify rape victims.)
Following the allegations of rape at USF's campus, immediate outcry came from students and faculty. Weekly forums were created to openly discuss rape. Groups of students formed to ignite change. One such group wrote a letter to Father Privett and the Board of Trustees, later printed in the campus newspaper The Foghorn, demanding for a curriculum change for all ROTC students.
USFtv covered forums and interviewed student activists. As a reporter for USFtv, it was easy to find students, faculty, and public safety representatives to interview. However, it was extremely difficult, and ultimately impossible, to interview a representative of ROTC. When asked for an interview, cadets said they were "not allowed to talk to the media in uniform". Since USF ROTC cadets are also students, reporters asked to conduct the interview while the members were in civilian clothing. The answer received every time was "we were told by our superiors not to discuss this topic with anyone". This is the same difficulty professional reporters face when writing stories about rape in the military. Military personnel are rarely allowed to be interviewed. Furthermore, only specific, very high-ranking officers can give "official" interviews. Consequently, stories are often more one-sided and skewed towards the defense of the victims. A national case that displayed this problem involved a court hearing demanding, through a subpoena, that Dr. Kaye Whitley, Director of the Department of Defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, be present during a congressional hearing addressing rape in the military did not show. Why wasn't she in attendance for the hearing? Because her superiors at the Pentagon commanded her not to go.
Back to USF media...The Foghorn wrote several articles about the alleged rape. The first article, written to announce the story, followed the same stigmas used by national news outlets in terms of language and the concealment of the victims identities. Of course, several opinion articles followed: defending Caskey and bashing him. In addition, the Foghorn continued to write stories surrounding the topic of rape in almost every issue that followed. The semester proceeded with weekly forums, group meetings, lectures, and open discussions about rape and the military.
Media fury ensued, not only at USF but throughout the bay area. As a result, a tabooo topic on USF's Jesuit campus became a part of several students' everyday conversation.
This case study demonstrates the power of media, especially on a college campus. An example on the national front came from an investigative piece produced by reporters at KPRC in Houston, Texas back in 2002. The story entitled "DNA Protects Men of Dishonor" won a coveted Peabody Award in 2003. DNA is collected from every person who joins the military. However, if someone within the military is accused of rape, DNA discovered during the investigation could not be cross examined with DNA on file. After the series of stories aired, federal law changed allowing for DNA to be used in criminal investigations. Again, this is another example of the power of media.
People have addressed rape stories for years and although only in the last few decades has it become a national topic, various groups (usually feminists) have formed to creatively discuss this uncomfortable issue. Three women interviewed by Media Watch demonstrate how they brought the discussion of rape to the UCSC campus by performing dramatic readings in a production of The Vagina Monologues. (This is a link where you can download the podcast of the interview which includes the readings.)
As previously mentioned, reporters face several difficulties when producing stories about rape, especially rape within the military. Although the uncomfortable topic of rape has finally reached a point where it is actually being reported in national news, the root of the topic still causes journalists to wade in uncharted waters. Inherently causing its audience to also feel seasick during the journey. We leave you with this personal encounter...While working on this post a male student walks into our office and asks "what are you doing?" We casually answer, "researching and writing a blog post about rape in the military." Quickly and anxiously the male student responds, "oh, then I'm leaving", and immediately escapes through the open door. Symbolically this story encompasses all that stems from mentioning the dreaded word, RAPE.
No comments:
Post a Comment