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Pentagon accused of withholding data on sex assaults at US bases

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TheDemSocialist

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The number of sex-related crimes occurring in U.S. military communities is far greater than the Defense Department has publicly reported, a U.S. senator said Monday in a scathing critique that asserts the Pentagon has refused to provide her information about sexual assaults at several major bases.The spouses of service members and civilian women who live or work near military facilities are especially vulnerable to being sexually assaulted, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said in a report. Yet they "remain in the shadows" because neither is counted in surveys conducted by the Defense Department to determine the prevalence of sexual assaults within the ranks, the report said.
“I don't think the military is being honest about the problem,” Gillibrand said in an interview.
The senator said her analysis of 107 sexual assault cases found punishments that were too lenient and the word of the alleged assailant was more likely to be believed than the victim.
Less than a quarter of the cases went to trial and just 11 resulted in conviction for a sex crime. Female civilians were the victims in more than half the cases, according to Gillibrand, an outspoken advocate for an overhaul of the military justice system.
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Read more @: Pentagon accused of withholding data on sex assaults at US bases

I think its pretty clear that the military justice system is going to need some pretty big overhaul.
 
TheDemSocialist said:
Read more @: Pentagon accused of withholding data on sex assaults at US bases

I think its pretty clear that the military justice system is going to need some pretty big overhaul. [/FONT][/COLOR]
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I would like to say I'm surprised by your reactions, but I'm not.

"Pentagon ACCUSED of withholding data on sex assaults" is not the same as "pentagon has big sexual assault problem derp derp"

All it means is someone, somewhere, is making that accusation. But I guess that's enough for some of you to speculate guilt anyway. Who is the accuser? What are her motives? What evidence does she have that there is a problem? Etc. these are relevant questions that we should ask
 
PeteEU said:
LOL that is an understatement.
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I don't know how it is in Denmark, but in this country, an accusation of guilt doesn't mean you're guilty of any crime. We operate under the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and we take great pride in that methodology.
 
Peter Grimm said:
I would like to say I'm surprised by your reactions, but I'm not.

"Pentagon ACCUSED of withholding data on sex assaults" is not the same as "pentagon has big sexual assault problem derp derp"

All it means is someone, somewhere, is making that accusation. But I guess that's enough for some of you to speculate guilt anyway. Who is the accuser? What are her motives? What evidence does she have that there is a problem? Etc. these are relevant questions that we should ask
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He is correct.
Some past history.
Recall the issue went public at the Air Force Academy a a number of years back - same as West Point. A culture of denial, coverup and when (if convicted, very big if) sentenced to very light punishment.
Harassment of those that made allegations.

2003 United States Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Allegations
The scandal began with an anonymous e-mail on 2 January 2003 to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Senator Wayne Allard, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, other U.S. Congressmen, and media representatives. The e-mail asserted there was a significant sexual assault problem at the United States Air Force Academy that had been ignored by the Academy’s leadership. The Secretary immediately directed the General Counsel of the U.S. Air Force (SAF/GC) to establish a high-level working group to review cadet complaints concerning the Academy’s program of deterrence and response to sexual assault. The Secretary also asked the working group to review allegations of sexual assault reported from January 1993 through December 2002. The Secretary subsequently directed the Air Force's Inspector General to review individual U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) cases and to investigate cadet complaints concerning the alleged mishandling of sexual assault cases. In due course these investigations were carried out and a report issued on 14 September 2004.[2]
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Women Sue West Point and Naval Academy for Being Awful to Rape Victims
Just days after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the military would actually start punishing sexual assault rather than covering it up by gaslighting alleged victims with psychiatric diagnoses, two women who claim that they were raped while attending U.S. service academies sued military of
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West Point leader vows to address sexual assault
 
I believe we've always had a huge problem there. We just don't know how to deal with it other than to misreport. It's a problem that's endemic to having a military. It's more complex than the simplistic answer of, "just prosecute them all".
 
JANFU said:
He is correct.
Some past history.
Recall the issue went public at the Air Force Academy a a number of years back - same as West Point. A culture of denial, coverup and when (if convicted, very big if) sentenced to very light punishment.
Harassment of those that made allegations.

2003 United States Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Women Sue West Point and Naval Academy for Being Awful to Rape Victims


West Point leader vows to address sexual assault
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Listen, I'm not saying the military justice system doesn't have problems. We don't know.

I'm saying it's a big leap to go from the title topic: "pentagon accused of withholding information" to the OP's conclusion "it's clear that the military justice system needs a major overhaul."

No, one does not follow, it's a complete non sequitur.

Accusations don't equal guilt. There is a lot more that we would need to look at firsr
 
Peter Grimm said:
I would like to say I'm surprised by your reactions, but I'm not.

"Pentagon ACCUSED of withholding data on sex assaults" is not the same as "pentagon has big sexual assault problem derp derp"

All it means is someone, somewhere, is making that accusation. But I guess that's enough for some of you to speculate guilt anyway. Who is the accuser? What are her motives? What evidence does she have that there is a problem? Etc. these are relevant questions that we should ask
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Minus the whole point of how this at all relates to not releasing data, do you not pay attention to current events?
 
Peter Grimm said:
Listen, I'm not saying the military justice system doesn't have problems. We don't know.

I'm saying it's a big leap to go from the title topic: "pentagon accused of withholding information" to the OP's conclusion "it's clear that the military justice system needs a major overhaul."

No, one does not follow, it's a complete non sequitur.

Accusations don't equal guilt. There is a lot more that we would need to look at firsr
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It is in need of an overhaul.
Read up on it and see how Senior Officers, responsible to either approve or deny the charge going forwards, turned a blind eye.
2012
Eight female Marines speak of gang rapes & sex assault a Washington Marines barracks | the unhived mind

Eight former Marines allege that they were raped or sexually assaulted at Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.
They say there were little or no punishments for their alleged rapists
Some were called ‘walking mattresses’ and ‘sluts’ by fellow Marines
Department of Defence said in January there were approximately 19,000 sexual assaults in the military
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2014
Will Military Sexual Assault Survivors Find Justice? (Issue Advisory) | National Organization for Women

The U.S. Senate turned back legislation offered by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand that would assign sexual assault cases to specially trained military prosecutors, removing them from the chain of command. Gillibrand’s bill, The Military Justice Improvement Act – S. 1752, had the support of 55 senators, but not the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. The Defense Department lobbied intensively against the bill, but Sen, Gilliband says that she is not giving up. Several similar bills are pending in the House but whether the Republican leadership – which generally supports the defense establishment — will let these come forward is another question.

We commend Sen. Gillibrand in her commitment to address sexual assault in the military and believe her efforts have increased public awareness of the larger cultural problem of rape and sexual assault. A report from the newly formed White House Task Force To Protect Students from Sexual Assault recognizes that rape is a deep and pervasive form of violence against women. Studies indicate that one in five women is a survivor of an attempted or completed act of sexual violence while in college. Men as well, both in the military and in college, experience sexual assault at rates higher than in the general population.
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Peter Grimm said:
Listen, I'm not saying the military justice system doesn't have problems. We don't know.

I'm saying it's a big leap to go from the title topic: "pentagon accused of withholding information" to the OP's conclusion "it's clear that the military justice system needs a major overhaul."

No, one does not follow, it's a complete non sequitur.

Accusations don't equal guilt. There is a lot more that we would need to look at firsr
Click to expand...
It is in need of an overhaul.
Read up on it and see how Senior Officers, responsible to either approve or deny the charge going forwards, turned a blind eye.
2012
Eight female Marines speak of gang rapes & sex assault a Washington Marines barracks | the unhived mind

Eight former Marines allege that they were raped or sexually assaulted at Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.
They say there were little or no punishments for their alleged rapists
Some were called ‘walking mattresses’ and ‘sluts’ by fellow Marines
Department of Defence said in January there were approximately 19,000 sexual assaults in the military
Click to expand...

2014
Will Military Sexual Assault Survivors Find Justice? (Issue Advisory) | National Organization for Women

The U.S. Senate turned back legislation offered by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand that would assign sexual assault cases to specially trained military prosecutors, removing them from the chain of command. Gillibrand’s bill, The Military Justice Improvement Act – S. 1752, had the support of 55 senators, but not the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. The Defense Department lobbied intensively against the bill, but Sen, Gilliband says that she is not giving up. Several similar bills are pending in the House but whether the Republican leadership – which generally supports the defense establishment — will let these come forward is another question.

We commend Sen. Gillibrand in her commitment to address sexual assault in the military and believe her efforts have increased public awareness of the larger cultural problem of rape and sexual assault. A report from the newly formed White House Task Force To Protect Students from Sexual Assault recognizes that rape is a deep and pervasive form of violence against women. Studies indicate that one in five women is a survivor of an attempted or completed act of sexual violence while in college. Men as well, both in the military and in college, experience sexual assault at rates higher than in the general population.
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Peter Grimm said:
No I don't pay attention to current events at all. What's going on with that whole moon landing thing again?
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Moon Base 3 just opened last week.
 
Peter Grimm said:
I don't know how it is in Denmark, but in this country, an accusation of guilt doesn't mean you're guilty of any crime. We operate under the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and we take great pride in that methodology.
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LOL since when? And this is the military not civilian courts.. Military courts cater to the military brass and their secrets.
 
OMG, the Pentagon is deceptive?!?!

Please, say it ain't so. :doh

It's like they are trying to control the public perception or something....;)
 
Frankly, the conviction and report rates are far better than the civilian sector. Reporting is up, anonymous survey indicates incidents are down. The military has the same problems with proving sexual assault as the civilian courts do. It boils down to he said/she said in most cases.

Is it or will it ever be zero, nope. Military is a reflection of society and regardless of screening, the lesser forms of filth will certainly slip in. Especially when it comes to sexual predators whom are notoriously good at hiding in the open. There are really good aspects of the current training to address this. Painting bystanders as nearly as bad as the assaulter is pretty effective. Do think more focus should be paid to not putting yourself in a scenario that would allow you to be assaulted. (and no, i'm not blaming the victims or suggesting its their fault). But situational awareness and not putting yourself in undo danger would go a long way in reducing these incidences.

Another aspect is simply the way the stats are recorded. Think they should be broken down to specifics. Terms are vague and interpretable. What is "unwanted sexual contact?" There are important distinctions there and the specifics might alter some's perception of this issue.

Frankly view those that sexually assault into two different categories. There are those that get drunk with someone else and with their judgment skewed, make a horrible mistake or misinterpret the situations (not an excuse or one that should provide more lenient punishment) and then there are predators, true sexual predators. I've heard of a couple cases in the last two years where several woman came forward over a period of several years and several different duty stations to testify.
 
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