A Peril in War Zones: Sexual Abuse by Fellow G.I.’s

This was the headline in a story that ran today in the New York Times regarding sexual misconduct and rape in the military. It is perennial problem that continues to be largely discounted by the U.S. military despite recent steps combat it. The article states according to the Pentagon that fewer than 10% of sexual assault incidents are reported. In 2005, Congresswoman Jane Harman, of the House Armed Services Committee received an unreleased Pentagon study detailing the extent of sexual misconduct in the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces. It revealed that 27 % of male soldiers experienced what the report termed "military sexual trauma" which includes verbal harassment as well as touching and other unwanted sexual behavior. The prevalence of women experiencing the same behavior is at 60%. 3% of males reported actually having been sexually assaulted (i.e. raped, sodomized, etc) and 23 % of women reported the same. The GAO recently released a report that the article links to which details the poor implemetation of the Petagon's anti-sexual violence measures. The report also states that services for men who have been raped are almost nonexistent. This conclusion is bolstered by a 2004 Boston Globe story "Sexual Assault in the Shadows" that details how the military has labeled the male victim of rape in the military as being homosexual in the past.