The Role Of Rape Victims In The Military

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Domestic violence has existed as long as humans have walked the Earth. The majority of abusers are men. Today a female soldier in combat zones is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The department of defense estimates there were a staggering 22,800 violent sex crimes in the military in 2011. Female solders aged 18 to 21 accounted for more than half of the victims. Many rape victims find themselves forced to choose between speaking up and keeping their careers. So you ask me, “ Is the female victim invisible?” and the answer is yes.
While rape victims in the civilian world can turn to an police force and judicial system for help and justice, rape victims in the military must turn to their commanders, a move that is often met with foot dragging at best and reprisals at worst. You wonder why only eight percent of military sexual assault cases are prosecuted.
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I don’t know about you but that would put me in a very sticky predicament especially when you as a young woman joined the military with the hopes of education, training, and a possible career of adventure that includes exploring foreign lands, I wouldn’t open my mouth either. That’s what makes the female victim “invisible”. We are constantly put in situations where we have to make life-altering decisions that could not only affect our careers and lives but the lives of people who depend on us like our

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