USA Today wrote:
Abuse found in military schools
By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A culture that devalues the role of women in uniform makes it easier for rape and sexual harassment to occur at the Army and Navy academies, according to a Pentagon task force report released Thursday.
One female West Point cadet hopeful is shown after completing an overnight, 15-mile hike with full packs and weapons.
By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY
"When women are devalued, the likelihood of harassing and even abusive behavior increases," said the panel of 12 military officers and civilian experts. It proposed wide-ranging action, from better admissions screening to revamping antiquated military rape laws.
Congress ordered the review of the Army and Navy academies after a 2003 investigation at the Air Force academy found sexual assault "a part of life" for cadets. That investigation arose after almost 150 women came forward to say they had been assaulted by fellow cadets between 1993 and 2003.
Thursday's report praised Army and Navy leaders for taking the issue seriously but said the services need to do more.
Representatives at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., said their services would use the report to help improve conditions.
"Our goal is to eliminate this illegal behavior," said Lt. Col. Kent Cassella, a West Point spokesman.
The report cited 2004 Pentagon data showing 50% of women at all three academies were harassed, mostly verbally but dozens suffering physical abuse. Tolerance of "hostile attitudes and inappropriate actions toward women" continues "to hinder the establishment of a safe and professional environment," it said.
"I'm not surprised at all, I regret to say," said retired Air Force brigadier general Wilma Vaught, president of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation. "I don't know what we have to do to end" the harassment of women by some male colleagues.
Among more than four dozen recommendations:
• Toughen consequences for men who harass or tolerate harassment, or who abuse alcohol, a major factor. The system of peer loyalty, which discourages reporting, must be changed, it said.
• Increase the number of women on faculties and in student bodies. About 15% of cadets and midshipmen are female.
• Require incoming freshmen to release high school records that would show behavior problems.
• Urge Congress to pass criminal rape laws for the military similar to those of many states. Current military laws "do not reflect the full range of contemporary sexual misconduct," including cases that don't involve physical force.
• Give commanders more authority to close the doors of criminal hearings, to protect the accuser from public exposure and thus encourage reporting.
• Add history of women in uniform to the curricula, including why women are excluded from combat.
That exclusion should end, said Vaught, adding that "we all take the same oath. We get the same pay. We should leave commanders free to use their troops the way they have to in times of combat."
By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — A culture that devalues the role of women in uniform makes it easier for rape and sexual harassment to occur at the Army and Navy academies, according to a Pentagon task force report released Thursday.
One female West Point cadet hopeful is shown after completing an overnight, 15-mile hike with full packs and weapons.
By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY
"When women are devalued, the likelihood of harassing and even abusive behavior increases," said the panel of 12 military officers and civilian experts. It proposed wide-ranging action, from better admissions screening to revamping antiquated military rape laws.
Congress ordered the review of the Army and Navy academies after a 2003 investigation at the Air Force academy found sexual assault "a part of life" for cadets. That investigation arose after almost 150 women came forward to say they had been assaulted by fellow cadets between 1993 and 2003.
Thursday's report praised Army and Navy leaders for taking the issue seriously but said the services need to do more.
Representatives at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., said their services would use the report to help improve conditions.
"Our goal is to eliminate this illegal behavior," said Lt. Col. Kent Cassella, a West Point spokesman.
The report cited 2004 Pentagon data showing 50% of women at all three academies were harassed, mostly verbally but dozens suffering physical abuse. Tolerance of "hostile attitudes and inappropriate actions toward women" continues "to hinder the establishment of a safe and professional environment," it said.
"I'm not surprised at all, I regret to say," said retired Air Force brigadier general Wilma Vaught, president of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation. "I don't know what we have to do to end" the harassment of women by some male colleagues.
Among more than four dozen recommendations:
• Toughen consequences for men who harass or tolerate harassment, or who abuse alcohol, a major factor. The system of peer loyalty, which discourages reporting, must be changed, it said.
• Increase the number of women on faculties and in student bodies. About 15% of cadets and midshipmen are female.
• Require incoming freshmen to release high school records that would show behavior problems.
• Urge Congress to pass criminal rape laws for the military similar to those of many states. Current military laws "do not reflect the full range of contemporary sexual misconduct," including cases that don't involve physical force.
• Give commanders more authority to close the doors of criminal hearings, to protect the accuser from public exposure and thus encourage reporting.
• Add history of women in uniform to the curricula, including why women are excluded from combat.
That exclusion should end, said Vaught, adding that "we all take the same oath. We get the same pay. We should leave commanders free to use their troops the way they have to in times of combat."
And this one
USA Today wrote:
Military academies and sex abuse: 15 years of failure
Fifteen years after an ugly incident involving a female midshipman being assaulted and chained to a urinal called attention to the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault at the nation's military academies, those schools still haven't dealt adequately with the problem.
That's the sorry conclusion of a congressionally mandated task force. In a report released Thursday, the Pentagon panel found:
• A subculture at the schools persists in devaluing women in uniform and denigrating their capabilities, creating an atmosphere that tolerates their abuse.
• Records from the past decade show long periods when offenders weren't consistently or effectively disciplined or prosecuted.
• Sexual harassment and assault prevention programs are poorly designed, handed off to student instructors, inconveniently scheduled and ineffective in key areas.
• Laws and procedures regarding harassment and assault — and the victims' rights and protections — need updating.
The report focused on the Army and Navy academies and follows other investigations triggered by the 2003 sex scandal at the Air Force Academy.
The ugly bottom line: Nearly 30 years after women were finally admitted to the academies, and when women are being increasingly relied on in combat situations, too many cadets and some officers are lost in the past.
In a survey last year, more than 50% of the women at the three academies reported being sexually harassed.
The task force offered more than four dozen recommendations, ranging from tougher consequences for violators to putting more women in visible positions of leadership. Most should have been obvious long ago. But the record is one of addressing the issue only sporadically and incompletely. It is, in short, a failure of military leadership.
Despite the musings of misogynists, women are in the military to stay. Sexual harassment is, in the words of the task force, not a "fix and forget" problem. "What is needed now is a long-term, sustained effort."
Fifteen years after an ugly incident involving a female midshipman being assaulted and chained to a urinal called attention to the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault at the nation's military academies, those schools still haven't dealt adequately with the problem.
That's the sorry conclusion of a congressionally mandated task force. In a report released Thursday, the Pentagon panel found:
• A subculture at the schools persists in devaluing women in uniform and denigrating their capabilities, creating an atmosphere that tolerates their abuse.
• Records from the past decade show long periods when offenders weren't consistently or effectively disciplined or prosecuted.
• Sexual harassment and assault prevention programs are poorly designed, handed off to student instructors, inconveniently scheduled and ineffective in key areas.
• Laws and procedures regarding harassment and assault — and the victims' rights and protections — need updating.
The report focused on the Army and Navy academies and follows other investigations triggered by the 2003 sex scandal at the Air Force Academy.
The ugly bottom line: Nearly 30 years after women were finally admitted to the academies, and when women are being increasingly relied on in combat situations, too many cadets and some officers are lost in the past.
In a survey last year, more than 50% of the women at the three academies reported being sexually harassed.
The task force offered more than four dozen recommendations, ranging from tougher consequences for violators to putting more women in visible positions of leadership. Most should have been obvious long ago. But the record is one of addressing the issue only sporadically and incompletely. It is, in short, a failure of military leadership.
Despite the musings of misogynists, women are in the military to stay. Sexual harassment is, in the words of the task force, not a "fix and forget" problem. "What is needed now is a long-term, sustained effort."
Some background reading:
West Point
Air Force Academy
Annapolis
VMI
The Citadel
This is somthing that I've seen from the inside and I was wondering what the rest of you think of Women in uniform. How that factors into respect and authority. Do you feel that women in uniform are devalued?
I have no problem with Women in the Military or in Uniform in general. I will say that I do have a problem with them being at service academies in a co-educational style.
Go!
