Yes! It made me crazy that during the last flap about sexual assault & coverups in the military, with all the testifying before Congress & coverage of horrible personal stories & more, I never heard one single word about male victims. If the oversight had been due to a reasoned decision to focus attention specifically on harrassment & disempowerment of women in the military I would have sympathized with the decision, even tho' I personally disagree with it. However, I'd bet my last penny that wasn't the reason for the silence, at least on the part of many in the military, political & news organizations. They simply don't want to acknowlege rape & assault of men in public, or deal with it at all unless forced to. I read & believe the comment piplover wrote about the Army educating both men & women about rape of both. Talking about it within the ranks of active-duty soldiers is one thing. Talking about servicemen (virtually always it's men) raping other servicemen, in public, in front of Congress & cameras & parents & children & potential recruits & flag-waving "support-our-troops" organizers, is another matter.
If the military really wanted to stop sexual harrassment, assault & rape, apart from changing their own policies & procedures & regulations, they would talk about it in public. They would write pamphlets & fact sheets & websites about the history & signs & symptoms & dangers of sexual assault, & treatments & support available for those who have been assaulted. The military would promote this info to everyone currently serving, veterans, reservists, & the families of all of them. They would publicize the websites & treatments to news organizations & support organizations & churches & anyone who asked for a quote or a comment. They would lobby whole-heartedly for more money & programs for rape survivors in the military & VA, & more medical & psychological research. High-ranking military officers would testify in Congress & give speeches & otherwise commit, on the record, that servicemembers who were sexually assaulted were injured serving their country. The Joint Chiefs of Staff would clearly state that the military owes those servicemembers every effort to help them & their families cope with the assault, continue to serve if possible, transition safely to civilian employment & life, & cope in the future with any aftereffects or new problems stemming from the assault.
Y'know, like they do for physical injuries suffered by members of the military. Like they now, finally, do (sometimes) for PTSD or exposure to toxic chemicals or biological agents or classified dangers. Like rape wasn't a dirty little secret to be whitewasahed & ignored. Like the victims didn't somehow 'ask for it' by volunteering to serve with their attackers, & then continuing to serve as well as they can after being attacked. Like the servicemembers who were assaulted were still 'real' men & women who still deserved respect & justice & a fair chance to succeed.
And that's just the military. The American penal system is such a savage travesty that I can barely comprehend it. The only tiny, stupid, illogical thing 'better' about being incarcerated is that no one with a brain can argue that, since the prisoners stay in prison, they must not think the horrible things that happen to them are so bad. /o\
If the military really wanted to stop sexual harrassment, assault & rape, apart from changing their own policies & procedures & regulations, they would talk about it in public. They would write pamphlets & fact sheets & websites about the history & signs & symptoms & dangers of sexual assault, & treatments & support available for those who have been assaulted. The military would promote this info to everyone currently serving, veterans, reservists, & the families of all of them. They would publicize the websites & treatments to news organizations & support organizations & churches & anyone who asked for a quote or a comment. They would lobby whole-heartedly for more money & programs for rape survivors in the military & VA, & more medical & psychological research. High-ranking military officers would testify in Congress & give speeches & otherwise commit, on the record, that servicemembers who were sexually assaulted were injured serving their country. The Joint Chiefs of Staff would clearly state that the military owes those servicemembers every effort to help them & their families cope with the assault, continue to serve if possible, transition safely to civilian employment & life, & cope in the future with any aftereffects or new problems stemming from the assault.
Y'know, like they do for physical injuries suffered by members of the military. Like they now, finally, do (sometimes) for PTSD or exposure to toxic chemicals or biological agents or classified dangers. Like rape wasn't a dirty little secret to be whitewasahed & ignored. Like the victims didn't somehow 'ask for it' by volunteering to serve with their attackers, & then continuing to serve as well as they can after being attacked. Like the servicemembers who were assaulted were still 'real' men & women who still deserved respect & justice & a fair chance to succeed.
And that's just the military. The American penal system is such a savage travesty that I can barely comprehend it. The only tiny, stupid, illogical thing 'better' about being incarcerated is that no one with a brain can argue that, since the prisoners stay in prison, they must not think the horrible things that happen to them are so bad. /o\
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