Sexual Abuse in the Military
When it comes to sexual abuse I always lean towards the military. I have been serving for over 6 years and sexual abuse is something I have seen first had as well as experienced in the military. I have had many soldiers come up to me telling me they needed to talk because something had happened from both genders. Sexual assault over the years has only risen in the military among all branches, the statistics show that the under reporting rate, as well as the reporting rate is rather high. The actual number of reported incidents of sexual assault has also increased in the past two years, up 26% from 4,794 to 6,053(Kime, 2019). Showing that only a third of all cases are reported, most woman don’t report because 43% them stated that they had a negative experience when doing so.
Females and males in the military fear reporting because of the shame of what their peers, or commanding officers will say. I know as the years have progressed sexual offenses of any kind are not tolerated and more offenders have been punished. But the stigma of the military is that we are built tough, for any gender it is a very hard topic to come out and say that something of that nature has happened it is almost embarrassing.
Being someone who was once sexually assaulted in the military I honestly didn’t want to tell anyone after it happened I was afraid of what people would say. But if it wasn’t for my battle buddies they gave me the strength to stand up and say something. It was not a easy task and for the longest time I believed it was my fault, it took over a year before I trusted anyone again. But from it I learn all the right words and actions to take in case it ever happened to any other soldier.
Alcohol plays a major role almost 62% of assaults geared from it, many junior enlisted men and woman are at higher risk for sexual assault. For many people they may not understand why but for the ones who are in or served we understand how hard it is when you start out. It is just like any job you want to put your best foot forward, and your afraid of failure. The same goes in the military you want to show everyone including your family that you can do this, and sometimes you are placed in a situation as a young soldier that you don’t know how to get out of. Unfortunately it is still happening to this day with no end in sight.
There are many treatments that help sexual assaulted victims because frankly many of them experience (PTSD) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, social awkwardness, depression, or suicidal thoughts. It is a hard road for anyone to have to deal with if you do not have the proper support chain to help you get through it. I am blessed to have had that chain, and now am the support for others it is a rather rewarding feeling. Even though it came with terrible circumstances it helped me to understand psychology and respect it so much more.
It is often said that a sexual assaulted victim is victimized twice once by the criminal justice system and the other by the perpetrator(Bartol & Bartol, 2021). Self blame is also very real and one that took me so long to get over, but once I realized that I was not the problem I was able to become a advocate for others in the military for many that is not the case.
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2021). Criminal behavior: a psychological approach. Boston: Pearson.
Kime, P. (2019, May 2). Despite Efforts, Sexual Assaults Up Nearly 40% in US Military. Retrieved from https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/05/02/despite-efforts-sexual-assaults-nearly-40-us-military.html