Military recruiters raping female enlistees

Posted by Laura Barcella at 12:49 PM on August 22, 2006.

According to a new AP investigation, in the last year, more than 100 women have reported being sexually abused by their recruiters.

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This CBS News story about the high number of women being raped and assaulted by military recruiters is scary.

According to the piece, which is based on a 6-month AP investigation,

"more than 100 young women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters. Women were raped on recruiting office couches, assaulted in government cars and groped en route to entrance exams."

"[The] AP investigation found that more than 80 military recruiters were disciplined last year for sexual misconduct with potential enlistees. The cases occurred across all branches of the military and in all regions of the country.

The study also determined that the misconduct usually happens at recruiting stations, recruiters' apartments or inside government vehicles.

"The victims are typically between 16 and 18 years old, and they usually are thinking about enlisting. They usually meet the recruiters at their high schools, but sometimes at malls or recruiting offices."

In response to a high number of reported assaults in Indiana (where one sole National Guard recruiter was charged with 31 counts of "rape, sexual battery, official misconduct and corrupt business influence") military officials have initiated a new policy that prevents Nat'l Guard recruiters from being alone -- anywhere -- with a female enlistee. If they are caught with a female recruit, they'll face prompt "disciplinary action."

Does this sort of preventative punishment work? According to one of the Indiana liuetenants, yes: "'We've had a lot fewer problems,' said Lt. Col. Ivan Denton."

But I agree with Feministing's Jessica -- there must be a better way to stop this kind of abuse than simply trying to force recruiters away from young girls, with the lame threat of "disciplinary action" (what exactly does that entail, anyway?). As Jessica notes, "I'm guessing if they really want to, they'll figure out a way to get these girls alone."

Laura Barcella is AlterNet's associate editor.

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A Proposed Solution [Report this comment] Posted by: kenadrian on Aug 23, 2006 7:16 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Simply end recruiting. It's an illegal war. Just "say no" to this war. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Stupid Question [Report this comment] Posted by: GeorgiaLiberal on Aug 23, 2006 9:40 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] A number of the victims are girls under 18. I taught high school for one year in between undergrad and grad school, and permission slips were required for everything! Why can military recruiters solicit and be alone with minors? Why don't they need parental consent and presence during this process? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Shocking if true [Report this comment] Posted by: Bobsays on Aug 24, 2006 9:03 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I noticed in the language that what is called rape is then watered down to includes groping etc. There is a big difference between being raped with penetrative sex, and somebody grabbing your ass. It would be worthwhile to work out how many incidence involved forced sex. I would suspect the number would go down a fair bit. I think maybe the root problem here is the overall sexualisation of our society, and the hypersensitivity around adults and teens between the ages of 16 and 18. When I was that age, this was not the case. We were considered soon-to-be-adults, and were treated as such at work. These days, this age group is treated like they are as vulnerable as an 8 year old. We also need to ask about the power relations here. What backgrounds are these young women from? How vulnerable and desperate are they because there are few other big opportunities in their lives? I would suspect that men forcing themselves on young women is not happening at a higher rate than in the past. The only difference here is that we now have a world where both sexes have access to most areas and most jobs, and thus are in new relationships. The solution? All-female regiments? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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