People Against Rape Culture

"Our" girls

5/15/2014

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By Blanca Torres

How come they weren't "our" girls before something tragic happened?

The kidnapping in Nigeria is a symptom of a larger problem worldwide. That problem is the idea that men have an inherent right to women's bodies. The idea that men have the right to purchase, consume, and dispose of women’s bodies as they see fit.

This event is tragic, and private and governmental resources need to be used to get those girls back. But this is not the first of it’s kind. This happens to girls and women all over the world.

Why can't we fight for and protect girls and women across the globe from these harmful patriarchal ideals all the time?

Why can't we educate about rape culture and create a culture of consent and healthy sexuality?

Why weren't they "ours" before they were taken?

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What Happened with the MJIA

3/12/2014

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By Ashley Medley
Last week, our own United States Senate brought the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA) to a vote, sponsored by Senator Kirsten Gilibrand (D-NY). I would be proud to say that the bill was passed. I wanted it to pass. But it did not; and why not? The reason Americans heard over and over from our senators who voted against this bill was that trying military personnel in civilian courts would undermine the structure and authority of the military. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) explained his worries as “I wanted to make sure the captain of a ship is really the captain of the whole ship.” But what about the captain who is sexually assaulting crew members or protecting his mates who are? It’s as though the thought had not entered the senator’s mind. 

Thankfully, the need for reform on military conduct is well understood by members of both parties - just not enough members for this bill. When the MJIA came to a vote, it had 10 republicans supporting and 10 democrats opposing it. But I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to watch a vote on this issue and know that partisan politics was at least not the problem. I mean, when else are we going to see Ted Cruz and Rand Paul voting in favor of a bill with Cory Booker and Barbara Boxer?! That was amazing! Senator Susan Collin, a Republican senator from Maine, was quoted, “While we debate various proposals, we are united by the need for serious reforms that will strengthen the military’s response to sexual assaults.” Thank God.  

I personally favored the MJIA over other proposals for several reasons, chief among them because it called for a more widespread overhaul of military justice. The current system of keeping it within the chain of command has so clearly been ineffective. When a system is this corrupt, the entire culture needs to change. The argument is that prosecutorial power cannot be taken away from the commanding officers because that would compromise good order and discipline…

What good order and discipline? Less than 8% of reported cases in 2011 went to trial! And ⅓ of convicted sex offenders remain in the military! What order?! What discipline?!

Several months back, I wrote here on PARC’s page about sexual assault in the military. It’s interesting because to me, this issue is not deeply personal – that is, I’m not a service member or a spouse/child/parent/sibling of a service member. My connections to the military are that I have extended family who have or are serving and am a proud American citizen who loves her country and respects the shit out of discipline and honor.  And I am physically sickened when I learn that people who have volunteered to serve our country are sexually harassed, assaulted and raped while trying to uphold American values. Raping soldiers, calling them “sluts" and “whore” and “cunts” and ruining their lives is NOT discipline and honor. It is not worth risking their lives and dying for. The military system is what has failed them, and that is why the entire culture has to change.






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Military on my mind

11/19/2013

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By Ashley Medley
Words cannot express my outrage for the issue of widespread sexual assault in the military that's recently come to media attention over the past year. I truly can't even talk about it with a level-head and I think that's okay. I could not believe some of the commentary in the Senate hearing addressing it in June. All I could say was - Thank God for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand! Even Senator John McCain, the man who brought us Sarah Palin(!), can accurately express his disgust and indignation with a situation that is so clearly appalling and has been covered up for so long by a broken system which allows perpetrators and enablers to perpetuate and support this behavior.

Why is this happening just now? Sexual assault numbers are climbing - up in 2012 to 26,000 from an also terrible 19,000 in 2010. Brave survivors are coming forward like the ones in the documentary Invisible War   that members of Congress and high-ranking leaders at the Pentagon viewed to understand this issue. Advocacy organizations like Service Women’s Action Network, and Protect our Defenders help spread the word and put a human face to this issue. As Senator McCain said in the June Senate Hearing, “this is an issue about defending basic human rights but it's also a long-term threat to the strength of our military.” These women love their country. They’ve signed up to die for it, for us and die for the men that then rape them. It’s been said again and again, this isn’t even discipline and order. I can’t respect an institution who tortures their own.

There are great examples of others within the global community responding appropriately to these types of abhorrent behaviors. One example was when a group of servicemen within the Australian army was discovered having filmed themselves engaging in sex (possibly under the influence of illicit drugs) with women and sending the videos to each other on government computers.  Australian Lieutenant General David Morrison responded saying "You may find another employer where your attitude and behavior is acceptable, but I doubt it. The same goes for those who think that toughness is built on humiliating others," and "The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."  I am not the first to notice, my American military falls short of such a response. The Australian investigation involved about 15 to 20 men. Here in the U.S. we are sitting on THOUSANDS of crimes unprosecuted.

I look at our country, my country, that I love, and I feel betrayed for these survivors. I want to say to my government “Don't tell me you are still learning how to navigate and discuss this sensitive issue. This is how you talk about it: It's a humiliation and the gravest type of dishonor to EVERY person past and present who has worn an American uniform. It is about leadership. It is about respect. It is about honor and bravery of what we would like to believe is the greatest military in all the world. This is not unclear.  Every day spent not condemning sexual assault within our ranks (in action, not just in words), is another day accepting it. This is a country worth defending, one that fights to protect life and liberty.”

This week the Senate is expected to vote on the S. 967 Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 (#MJIA) introduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and currently has 38 cosponsors. If made law, the act will require that when a sexual assault is reported an independent military prosecutor would decide whether to prosecute the crime. This is a change from the current protocol, in which the decision of whether to prosecute moves up the chain of command, regardless of whether the assault survivor’s attacker was her/his commander. This act is a tremendous show of leadership that restores honor to the U.S. military and is a step toward giving rape survivors in our military the justice at which we in the civilian world at least have a chance. To tell your senator you support the Military Justice Improvement Act, call, email, tweet them! Here is a link to sign the petition. Your voices will be heard!




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