Culture of misogyny, illegal occupation, fuel sexual violence in military
Helen Benedict – In These Times – Wednesday 13 Aug, 2008
Army Capt. Jennifer Machmer testifies before a
congressional caucus that she was assaulted
in 2003 in Kuwait by another U.S. soldier.
An alarming number of women soldiers are being sexually abused by their comrades-in-arms, both at war and at home. This fact has received a fair amount of attention lately from researchers and the press — and deservedly so.
But the attention always focuses on the women: where they were when assaulted, their relations with the assailant, the effects on their mental health and careers, whether they are being adequately helped, and so on. That discussion, as valuable as it is, misses a fundamental point. To understand military sexual assault, let alone know how to stop it, we must focus on the perpetrators. We need to ask: Why do soldiers rape? . . .
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(please note – sections of this article are not for children under the age of 18)
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