COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Service: Women
Sexual Assault Survivors Accuse Military of Systemic Disinterest
Jessica Pupovac, The NewStandard
December 21, 2006
Military sexual assault survivors and their advocates say thecase of Suzanne Swift typifies the Pentagon's failure to address the
prevalence of sexual assault inside its ranks, as well as the unmet needs
of survivors and the impunity enjoyed by assailants.
Swift went AWOL in January to avoid deployment with a battalion in which
she underwent repeated incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. Now she is
being thrown in the brig while only one of her three alleged transgressors
has received so much as a letter of reprimand.
But "for the Army, this case shows how thorough and fair the military legal
process is," according to Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Piek, the press officer
at Fort Lewis, where Swift's unit is based. Piek noted that the "thorough
investigation" Swift's allegations received demonstrate critics are wrong.
Swift's former lawyer Lawrence Hildes offers a contrasting view. He told
The NewStandard that when Swift was targeted for sexual harassment by her
platoon sergeant in Kuwait in February 2005 and was then manipulated into
having sex with another superior in Iraq later that year, she did not file
a formal complaint out of fear. Her alleged assailant in Iraq "made it very
clear to her that there would be real repercussions if she reported it, and
she believed him," Hildes said.
A study headed by Anne Sadler, coordinator of the post-traumatic stress
clinical team at the Veterans Administration hospital in Iowa City, found
that Swift's experience was not uncommon.
That nationwide survey, which included women whose terms of service fell
between 1961 and 2003, found that more than three-quarters of the
respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment during their military
service; a third suffered one or more completed or attempted rapes.
However, only 26 percent of the rape survivors reported it through official
channels while in active duty. The most common reasons given were fear that
the report would negatively impact the survivor's career or make things
worse. A belief that nothing would be done and fear that they would be
blamed by their co-workers were also prominent concerns. A shocking 19
percent thought that "rape [is] an expected part of military service."
The VA study also found that among respondents who had experienced a rape
or attempted rape, in most cases survivors did not report because the
designated go-to man was either the rapist himself or a friend of the rapist.
When Swift returned to Ft. Lewis, Washington in January 2005, she claims, a
third superior began harassing her. When he told her – reportedly in front
of fellow soldiers – to report to duty one morning "in my bed, naked," she
filed a formal complaint that led to his receiving a letter of
admonishment, the Army confirmed to TNS.
It was only after facing the possibility of returning to Iraq under the
same leadership that on January 9, 2006, she decided to go AWOL. Eugene,
Oregon police officers arrested her on June 11 in her mother's home.
Following her capture, she finally told investigators what had happened to
her in Iraq.
This initiated what press officer Piek calls "a very lengthy investigative
process." In the end, Lt. Col. Piek told TNS, the investigation could not
prove or disprove Swifts allegations. The case never made it to a
court-martial, and the investigation is closed.
According to the Defense Department, of the 2,374 reported allegations of
sexual assault last year, only 79 made it to a court-martial. Another 195
resulted in administrative punishments, such as pay deductions, letters of
reprimand, demotions and transfers.
For her decision to evade the Army instead of deploying to Iraq with a unit
she considered unsafe, Swift was demoted from specialist to private and
given 30 days' confinement.
In order to avoid a harsher sentence, she agreed to plead guilty and sign a
Stipulation of Fact that states only that she was "harassed" and that she
"engaged in a sexual relationship with her squad leader." It mentions
nothing about her allegations that the relationship was coerced and took
place under threat of punishment.
Swift's mother, Sara Rich, wishes the military had handled her daughter's
case differently and given her a medical discharge. "But instead," Rich
told TNS, "they have decided to re-traumatize her." She said that she fears
for her daughter's safety once she returns to the combat environment,
particularly given the attention her case has received in the news media.
Sexualized violence is reported at much higher rates in the military than
in the general civilian population. According to the Centers for Disease
Control, 17 percent of civilian women report having survived rape or
attempted rape in contrast with 30 percent of women surveyed for the VA study.
While the reasons for elevated sexual violence inside the military are
unclear, the VA study found that an overall climate where sexual harassment
is condoned and "hostile work environments" were key factors. In addition,
the study found, "officers allowing or initiating sexually demeaning
comments or gestures towards female soldiers was associated with a three-
to four-fold increase in likelihood of rape."
Congressional hearings held in 2004, in response to reports of escalating
sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military, led to the creation
of the DoD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Office. SAPR's
objectives, according to its website, are to enhance and improve training
and awareness, treatment and support, and system accountability.
Nonetheless, many rape survivors report being at a loss. Former soldier
Jessica Brinkman, who was discharged from the Army last August for medical
reasons, claims she was raped on multiple occasions.
"They put a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator in the community events
building on post, but there are so many flaws and so many people are
uneducated that even your reporting gets screwed up just because no one
knows what they are doing, or cares," Brinkman told TNS.
She said she attempted to report her first rape to the Sexual Assault
Response Coordinator at Ft. Eustis, where she was stationed, but the SARC
kept putting her off.
"Once you [report] once and your command doesn't follow the rules, then you
lose all faith in it," she said.
When she tried to get counseling for the trauma, Brinkman said, she was
told to "try jogging."
"I didn't need to go jogging," she told TNS. "I needed somebody to tell me
that the way I was feeling was normal."
Brinkman is currently creating a booklet to help women who find themselves
in similar situations, so that they know what to expect, what their rights
are and how to cope. She says there was nothing like that for her.
Swift's mother, too, has dedicated herself to publicizing her daughter's
case in order to "prevent this from happening to other young women."
"The most important thing people need to know is that they should not be
silent because of fear," Rich told TNS. "We have to do something about how
our military is oppressing women. This is not an isolated incident."
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