Self-Defense & Violence Prevention Blog

Military sexual assault survivors and their advocates say the case of Suzanne Swift typifies the Pentagon’s failure to address the prevalence of sexual assault inside its ranks, as well as the unmet needs of survivors and the impunity enjoyed by assailants.

Swift went AWOL in January to avoid deployment with a battalion in which she underwent repeated incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. Now she is being thrown in the brig while only one of her three alleged transgressors has received so much as a letter of reprimand.

For her decision to evade the Army instead of deploying to Iraq with a unit she considered unsafe, Swift was demoted from specialist to private and given 30 days’ confinement.

In order to avoid a harsher sentence, she agreed to plead guilty and sign a Stipulation of Fact that states only that she was “harassed” and that she “engaged in a sexual relationship with her squad leader.” It mentions nothing about her allegations that the relationship was coerced and took place under threat of punishment.

A study headed by Anne Sadler, coordinator of the post-traumatic stress clinical team at the Veterans Administration hospital in Iowa City, found that Swift’s experience was not uncommon.

That nationwide survey, which included women whose terms of service fell between 1961 and 2003, found that more than three-quarters of the respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment during their military service; a third suffered one or more completed or attempted rapes.

However, only 26 percent of the rape survivors reported it through official channels while in active duty. The most common reasons given were fear that the report would negatively impact the survivor’s career or make things worse. A belief that nothing would be done and fear that they would be blamed by their co-workers were also prominent concerns. A shocking 19 percent thought that “rape [is] an expected part of military service.”

The VA study also found that among respondents who had experienced a rape or attempted rape, in most cases survivors did not report because the designated go-to man was either the rapist himself or a friend of the rapist.

Sexualized violence is reported at much higher rates in the military than in the general civilian population. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 17 percent of civilian women report having survived rape or attempted rape in contrast with 30 percent of women surveyed for the VA study.

While the reasons for elevated sexual violence inside the military are unclear, the VA study found that an overall climate where sexual harassment is condoned and “hostile work environments” were key factors. In addition, the study found, “officers allowing or initiating sexually demeaning comments or gestures towards female soldiers was associated with a three- to four-fold increase in likelihood of rape.”

Read entire NewStandard article by Jessica Pupovac.

I find it horrifically disturbing that the military administration and indeed the whole country systemically ignore the victimization of these troops such as Suzanne Swift who dedicate themselves to protecting the rest of us.

One could argue that Swift deserved her official punishment of confinement, in that she broke the law by abandoning her position and going AWOL. However, if the military administration hadn’t systemically ignored and covered up the rampant sexual victimizations taking place against innocent troops such as had happened to Swift beforehand, then Swift would have had no reason to go AWOL. The extremely disgusting failure of the military administration caused the understandable – but criminal – choice of Swift. Considering the exceptional circumstances, I personally would have liked to see the charges against Swift dropped, and let her leave her battalion and/or the army without reprimand, but clearly the military administrators just want to cover their own backs by covering up their tolerance of sexual victimization.

What do you thinK?