Feisty Aphrodite Archives
Rape, sexual misconduct on the rise among military recruiters
Martha Mendoza of the Associated Press reported last week that sexual misconduct by military recruiters is on the rise. Mendoza uncovered "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." Over 80 recruiters in 2005 were disciplined for sexual misconduct, which averages one out of every 200 frontline recruiters among all the military services.
Through extensive Freedom of Information requests, Mendoza discovered that most of those found guilty seldom face military or civilian prosecution, but are rather administratively reprimanded through such methods as an absence of pay, demotion or a less than honorable discharge. Since 1996 there have been 722 allegations against Army recruiters alone. Mendoza's report also found that the average age of the victims are women ages 16-18, and that most of the assaults happen in either recruitment offices, government vehicles, or in the recruiter's apartments. Mendoza interviewed many victims and found that they were approached or coerced through the recruiter's power to allow them a future in the military, while others were forcibly raped.
S. Douglas Smith, recruiting spokesman, told Mendoza, "We take this very seriously and we take appropriate action as necessary to discipline these people." However, in the case of Sgt. George Kirkman, Smith's words hardly ring true. Kirkman pleaded no contest to sexual battery charges for raping a woman after he instructed her to take off her pants so he could measure her. The Jacksonville, Florida Army recruitment office has still allowed him to work as a clerk despite being on probation and a registered sex offender. Kirkman is just one example of the plethora of cases that are handled through a slap on the wrist for the perpetrator while giving the victim a punch to the face. Yet the Indiana National Guard has implemented the first "No One Alone" policy, the first of its kind in the U.S., that has a zero tolerance for female enlistees to be left alone at any time with a male recruiter. The policy allows for immediate disciplinary actions to be taken against any recruiter who either fails to follow the guidelines or does not report of another colleague's misbehavior. Since its inception last year, the commander of Indiana's National Guard recruitment battalion has reported a significant drop in sexual misconduct cases.
The Miles Foundation, along with its coalition of organizations, has provided services focused on those who suffer violence through the military and has drafted the Improving the US Armed Forces Response to Violence Against Women: Recommendations for Change, which advocates through administrative and legislative means . For more information about victim services that are available, and to learn how you can obtain a copy of their recommendations, please visit the Miles Foundation website.
To read Mendoza's complete Associated Press report, click here. You may also listen to Amy Goodman's interview with Mendoza on Democracy Now!.
