Rape in the Military - Essay Example

340). Women are not immune to rape even within their rank and file of the U.S. military which state of affairs will be the subject of discussion in the rest of this paper. Recent CBS news of dt January 27, 2013 reports the rampant rape incidents in the U.S. military where 15 percent of personnel are women. A newly recruited 24 year old in the Air Force has been raped in her unconscious state by her recruiting officer in party she had been called in to meet her fellow soldiers. As she had to drive her car, she did not take alcohol.

But her officer had put some intoxicating substance in her soft drinks. She has not made a complaint for fear of losing her job. Her new superior officer has been making sexual advances towards her which she hesitates to report to her commander who happens to be the friend of her superior. The woman cannot easily quit the military without the help of her commanders. There is no severe deterrent punishment for rape and other sex crimes within the military unlike in the civilian world. The U.S.

Air Force’s own data shows that there were 790 incidents of sexual assaults and harassment by the members of the Air Force in the last year as against 614 in the previous year. In the Army, there were 1,695 cases and in Navy and Marines 883 cases in 2011 involving male members attacking women members. Only 25 percent of the sexual attack incidents in the military are reported and according to the official estimates, there are 19,000 such incidents occurring every year. Forty percent of victims hold men in higher ranks responsible and they come from their chain of command.

General Mark Welsh, the Chief of Air Force has vowed to bring down the number to zero rather than lowering the number. 6- Air Force Attorneys have been designated to deal with the complaints. Although the Pentagon set up in 2004 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) to contain sexual assault in the military, the crime incidents have not come down but only have been increasing. There are proposals to make legislation to have the investigations taken out of the purview of the military chain of command (Herbert, 2012).

Military personnel continue indulging in rape both within and outside as well as in wartimes and peacetimes. A report says that two US naval sailors have been convicted for raping a Japanese woman in October, 2012 while she was walking alongside a street in Okinawa US military base in Japan Both in their early twenties have been sentenced with 10 year and nine year imprisonment respectively. This is a case of US forces committing the crime in Japan (Anonymous, 2013). This is a repeat of a 1995 incident involving a 12 year old Japanese girl who was raped by the US military personnel in Okinawa (Smith, 2004).

The fact is that military personnel involved in rape of women within the military are unlikely to be punished and there are 86.5 % chance of the crime being swept under the carpet and 92 % chance of court-martial being avoided. Victims often do not make complaints due to the prevailing culture of acceptance in the US military, fewer prosecutions and the chain of command they have to report through. Women in the military who succeed in obtaining punishment to the military rapists are forced to leave the military service because of harassment in investigation and prosecution(Speier, 2012).

No military woman who has been raped can approach a medical facility for treatment as well as for evidence