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Veterans For Peace - 20 Years of Waging Peace
VFP Reconigizes Military Rape Awareness Day - 2009

Military Rape Awareness Week:  October 12 - 16, 2009

Warning: Study says 1 in 3 Women RAPED in the Military

military rape brochuresA.G. Sadler, et al., Factors Associated with Women's Risk of Rape in the Military Environment, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 43:262-273 (2003). Important, see Erratum correcting study's rate of rape from 28% to 30%.

The view of women as sexual prey rather than as responsible adults has always been part of military culture. Women today are indispensable to the military. Nevertheless, one woman soldier observed: "There are only three things the guys let you be if you're a girl in the military - a bitch, a ho, or a dyke." Not all military men see women soldiers this way, but too many do. The hostility is shown by undermining women's authority, denying promotions, denigrating their work, sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape.

 

1 in 3 women are raped in the military

AN EPIDEMIC:

  • A 2004 study of women veterans from Vietnam and all wars since, who were seeking help for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), found that 71% said they were sexually assaulted or raped while serving.
  • The VA study (referenced in the title above) was funded by the Army Medical Research Department and found that 30% of women veterans said they were raped while serving. That is almost one in three.
  • Thirty seven percent of the attempted raped and raped women in the VA study also reported being raped more than once and 14% of them reported being gang raped. This study also discovered that 75% of raped women in the military failed to report it.

Although this is an epidemic, it is not being treated as one.

SURVIVORS LIVE WITH:

  • Depression, shame, terror, irrationally blaming themselves, difficulty trusting anybody again.
  • Emotional numbness, helplessness, fear, flashbacks, nightmares.
  • Severe medical problems, drug and/or alcohol dependency.
  • Homelessness - 40% of female veterans report being raped in the military.

Even a Pack of Cigarettes has a Warning

VFP National will assist local chapters and other organizations in a nationwide effort to warn women, our daughters, sister, aunts, mothers and nieces of the known risk of rape in the military. A Veterans Administrative Study financed by the US Army Medical Corps reported that 1 in 3 women in the military were raped. Read the details of the study on VFP's WEB site link to the MRAW and the list of other studies and reports on the problem. To insure that your efforts during the campaign are credible and successful, please educate yourself and your chapter's members.

We can help you combat Military Sexual Trauma!

Below is an introduction to the campaign. The beauty of this campaign is that VFP National is available to assist but chapters may engage in the campaign in any way they see fit. Use the knowledge of your local area and use your imagination to create ways to make the warning known. The below introduction covers Ann Wright's unique action to which will be held in NYC on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. Other actions ideas under discussion by chapters include:

  • Members standing or walking in lines15 yards apart holding a series of signs each with a few words of the message: Study finds 1 out of 3 women raped in the military. A good time and place to do this is along the route of students and school buses on their way to school in the morning.
  • Speaking at school board meetings demanding that students be warned because the recruiters won't warn them.
  • Making business sized cards with the warning and slipping it among products being sold at department stores and groceries.
  • Panel Discussions with rape victims and experts

You may find some of these strategies to be too aggressive or that they involve civil disobedience. CD is a matter of personal conscience. It is not for everybody. Nevertheless, your imaginations are the only limits on the unique ways to get the warning out. Soliciting other peace and justice groups or women's groups to get the warning out is highly recommended.