US female veterans’ sexual trauma

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This video from the USA says about itself:

PRESS CONFERENCE IN SUPPORT OF SUZANNE SWIFT Veterans For Peace National Convention, Seattle, WA August 12, 2006 www.suzanneswift.org www.veteransforpeace.org www.couragetoresist.org www.ivaw.net

“Suzanne Swift is a veteran of the Iraq war who is now held in custody at Fort Lewis, Washington. Suzanne had completed a tour of duty in Iraq, where she was sexually harassed and assaulted at the hands of three of her commanding officers continuing over the course of her entire deployment. Her efforts to report her treatment were met with disrespect and dismissed. Finally, Suzanne suffered a breakdown due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and went absent without leave. She was apprehended in Eugene, OR in June, 2006 and instead of seeing her rapists investigated, Suzanne herself is facing court martial and prison time.”

“It has now been 74 days since Suzanne was taken in handcuffs to jail and we are still working hard everyday to get her the honorable discharge she deserves. Suzanne has to be one the bravest people I know.” Sara Rich, Suzanne’s mom. Col. Ann Wright US Army, retired Sharon Kufeldt National Vice-President Veterans For Peace Ellen Barfield National Vice-President Veterans For Peace April Fitzsimmons USAF Intel. Analyst, 85-89 Kelly Dougherty Founding Member of Iraq Veterans Against the War Sara Rich Mother of Suzanne Swift

From Agence France-Presse:

15% of female veterans had sexual trauma

Study on military service in Iraq, Afghanistan

First Posted 10:10:00 10/29/2008

WASHINGTON — Nearly 15 percent of female US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan experienced sexual trauma during their military service, the Department of Veterans Affairs said in a study Tuesday.

The study, based on data from 100,000 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom who used VA health care, found that more than one in seven women reported having experienced “military sexual trauma.”

The study, covering a six-year period, also found that 0.7 percent of men returning from duty reported military sexual trauma.

Individuals, both female and male, who experienced sexual trauma in the service had a greater probability of being diagnosed with a mental illness upon return than those who did not report such trauma, researchers found.

The trauma, ranging from repeated sexual advances and intimidation to rape, can lead to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and a propensity for drug abuse, according to the study.

Raped in the Military? You’ll Have to Pay for Your Own Forensic Exam Kit: here.

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12 thoughts on “US female veterans’ sexual trauma”

  1. Thank you all for providing such strong backup to our women in the military who end up suffering at the mercy of a system they trusted.

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  5. Feb 28, 9:57 AM EST

    Mom: Deployment leaves no one to care for kids

    By MITCH WEISS
    Associated Press Writer

    DAVIDSON, N.C. (AP) — When Lisa Pagan reports for duty Sunday, four long years after she was honorably discharged from the Army, she’ll arrive with more than her old uniform. She’s bringing her kids, too.

    “I have to bring them with me,” she said. “I don’t have a choice.”

    Pagan is among thousands of former service members who have left active duty since the Sept. 11 attacks, only to later receive orders to return to service. They’re not in training, they’re not getting a Defense Department salary, but as long as they have time left on their original enlistment contracts, they’re on “individual ready reserve” status – eligible to be recalled at any time.

    Soldiers can appeal, and some have won permission to remain in civilian life. Pagan filed several appeals, arguing that because her husband travels for business, no one else can take care of her kids. All were rejected, leaving Pagan with what she says is a choice between deploying to Iraq and abandoning her family, or refusing her orders and potentially facing charges.

    Then she hit on the idea of showing up Sunday at Fort Benning, Ga., with her children in tow.

    “I guess they’ll have to contact the highest person at the base, and they’ll have to decide from there what to do,” Pagan said. “I either report and bring the children with me or don’t report and face dishonorable discharge and possibly being arrested. I guess I’ll just have to make my case while I’m there.”

    Master Sgt. Keith O’Donnell, an Army spokesman in St. Louis, said the commander at Fort Benning will decide how to handle the situation.

    “The Army tries to look at the whole picture and they definitely don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes the family or jeopardizes the children,” O’Donnell said. “At the same time, these are individuals who made obligations and commitments to the country.”

    Of the 25,000 individual ready reserve troops recalled since September 2001, more than 7,500 have been granted deferments or exemptions, O’Donnell said. About 1,000 have failed to report. O’Donnell most of those cases are still under investigation, while 360 soldiers have been separated from the Army either through “other than honorable” discharges or general discharges.

    He said Pagan isn’t likely to face charges, since none of the individual ready reserve soldiers who have failed to report faced a court-martial.

    Pagan, who grew up near Camden, N.J., was working in a department store when she made her commitment in September 2002. She learned how to drive a truck, and met Travis while stationed in Hawaii. She had her first child while in uniform, and they left the service in 2005 when their enlistments were up.

    She always knew there was a chance she could be recalled, so she buried the thought in the back of her mind.

    “When I enlisted, they said almost nobody gets called back when you’re in the IRR,” she said.

    The young family settled outside of Charlotte in the college town of Davidson, where Travis landed a job as a salesman. It required lots of travel, but that was OK – Pagan enjoyed her life as a stay-at-home mom to their son Eric and second child, a daughter named Elizabeth.

    She opened a child-care center in her home, and started taking classes at nearby Fayetteville State.

    The orders to return to active duty arrived in December 2007. She told the Army there was no one to take care of her children: Her husband spent most of his time on the road, and they believe quitting his job is a sure path to bankruptcy and foreclosure. Her parents live in New Jersey and her husband’s parents live in Texas. Neither are able to help out. The Army wasn’t persuaded.

    Pagan hired attorney Mark Waple, who filed another appeal, which included a letter from Travis Pagan’s employer that said bluntly: “In order for Travis to remain an employee, he will be required to travel.” In December 2008, her appeal was again rejected.

    “It’s the obligation of commanders to make certain that service members have a valid family care plan and that clearly has not happened in Lisa’s case,” Waple said.

    Tom Tarantino, a policy associate with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a nonprofit group that helps veterans, said the Army has taken a hard line on many of these cases.

    “Usually the only way that someone can get out of the deployment or get out of the military due to a family hardship is if they get into a situation where the kids will be put into foster care,” Tarantino said.

    “That’s how serious it has to be, and I’m sure what the military is telling her – and I’m not saying that this is exactly the right answer – but the fact that it is inconvenient for her husband’s job is not the military’s problem. It’s very harsh.”

    © 2009 The Associated Press.

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  6. Pingback: United States women soldiers raped scandal | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  7. Pingback: New York, Chicago against war | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  8. Pingback: Female military veterans, after rape, homelessness | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  9. Thanks for the link back to my blog. People have no idea what Military Sexual Trauma does to you. I have a lot of abuse in my past, but the incident of sexual assault while I was in the military doesn’t compare psychologically.

    Thank you for bringing this out in the open,

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  10. Pingback: United States military sexual abuse continues | Dear Kitty. Some blog

  11. Pingback: Female U.S. soldiers raped by comrades | Dear Kitty. Some blog

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