Yahoo! Groups Tips
Did you know...
Hear how Yahoo! Groups has changed the lives of others. Take me there.
|
|
|
"Valerie L'Herrou" <pdvaasa@...>
pdvaasa@...
 Send Email
|
 | | | | | 
|  | The People's Voice for Family Peace |
| |
BIASED INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
AT AIR FORCE ACADEMY
On March 11th, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that President Bush was worried over rape allegations at the Air Force Academy (AFA), and that he was confident the Department of the Air Force was handling this properly.
| The numbers tell a different story, however: | | 142 | number of sexual assaults reported at the AFA since 1993. | | 6 | average number of sexual assaults investigated per year. | | 4 | number of internal investigations into AFA sexual assaults begun since January by the Department of Defense. | | 7 | number of people appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to a congressionally mandated civilian panel to investigate sexual assault at the AFA. | | 5 | number of people on that "civilian" panel who have current or former ties to the military. | | 2 | number of people appointed by Secretary Rumsfeld who have denounced women's participation in the military. | | 0 | number of people on that panel who have worked in the field of sexual assault, victim advocacy, male violence, trauma/recovery or with sexual offenders. | | 0 | degree of confidentiality afforded to any victim of sexual assault who agrees to testify to the panel. | | 0 | degree to which - according to the first internal investigation - the Air Force Academy has avoided its responsibility toward victims of sexual violence. |
ACT NOW!
Enter your zip-code in the box below to urge your Senators to demand that:- a victim advocate serve on the civilian
investigatory panel - the panel be required to consult with professionals in the field of sexual violence
- victims are provided a safe and confidential setting in which to testify before the panel
- future panels have congressional oversight
(Note: in addition, your message will be forwarded to President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of the Air Force James Roche.)
Additional Information
Women were first admitted to the Air Force Academy in 1976. Sixteen percent of the Academy's 4000 students are women - a quota that was set back then and has never been changed. Women are out-numbered by men at the AFA by a ratio of more than 5:1.
Studies show the environment at the AFA has been hostile to women since they first arrived, with little improvement over the years. A 1995 study found that 78% of women cadets were sexually harassed at least once a month.
The ongoing problem of sexual assault at the AFA was brought to light in January 2003 when several cadets e-mailed Air Force Secretary Thomas Roche about their experiences of sexual assault in the Academy. They contacted local media in Colorado Springs as well - and their stories of pervasive sexual assault and sexual hostility at the Academy soon gained national exposure . Victims told horrifying stories of how they were ridiculed and even punished by commanding officers for being rape victims.
Their stories caught the attention of Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO, member Armed Services Committee) and Senator John Warner (R-VA, chair Armed Services Committee). By mid-February, the Senate Armed Services committee called for an investigation.
There have been 4 separate investigations launched - all under the auspices of the Department of Defense. One investigation is being conducted by the Inspector General of the Air Force, another by the Inspector General for the Department of Defense.
A third investigation was conducted by 13 members of an internal DoD working group. Its controversial findings were released June 19. The report indicates victims fear being punished by command, having their friends punished by command, and fear they will not be believed by command when they report being raped.
Still, the working group somehow concluded that there was no "systemic acceptance of sexual assault at the Academy, institutional avoidance of responsibility, or systemic maltreatment of cadets who report sexual assault."
Critics accuse the report of being carefully worded, and suggest it fails to recognize the concerns victims raised or problems they have encountered.
The problem of culture is addressed again and again in the working group's report, from the fear of reporting and thus breaking ranks with fellow cadets, to the problem of confidentiality, to the acceptance of women on a military academy campus, to the problem of underclassmen vs. upperclassmen, to the lack of understanding of certain fundamental rights - such as the right to pass out without waking up and finding a classmate on top of you.
"But notably," says Kate Summers, director of victim services at the Miles Foundation, a non-profit that provides confidential services to victims of violence in the military, "while the report identifies many cultural aspects that contribute to the problems victims face, there is no discussion of who created that culture."
"Without addressing the underlying complicity in sustaining a culture that is hostile towards women, the problem of sexual assault will never be eliminated," Summers said.
Last, and perhaps most controversial of all, is the congressionally mandated civilian investigatory panel that was appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Five of the seven appointed "civilian" members have current or former ties to the military; none have expertise in sexual assault, victim services or male violence against women. Two members have spoken against integration of women in the military; others have denounced Federal programs and policies designed to protect women from men's violence, and have suggested that women share some of the blame for being raped.
Two of the appointed members were affiliated with the Independent Women's Forum - a conservative women's organization that, among other things, worked to defeat the Violence Against Women Act. One of those IWF members, Anita Blair, who opposed full integration of women into the military, and who referred to the military's zero-tolerance sexual harassment policies as a "gender-correctness litmus test" has been forced to resign before the committee even began its work.
Also resigning under a shadow of controversy before the committee got underway was Amy McCarthy, a United Airlines pilot and 1980 Air Force Academy graduate, who in a March interview with the Rocky Mountain News, said that "one or two" of the rape allegations probably were legitimate, but that she doubted the veracity of most of them. She stood behind those comments in more recent interviews, saying that many of the women were drinking when they were raped or were engaged in otherwise questionable behavior.
Still remaining on the committee are Sally Satel, the other IWF affiliate, and Josiah Bunting III, former commandant of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) who, when head of the then all-male Institute, fought to exclude women from the publicly funded college and called it a "savage disappointment" when the Supreme Court ordered their admission in 1996.
The committee held its first public meeting on June 23. Their final report is scheduled to be released September 22.
Tillie Fowler , chair of the civilian investigatory panel, and a former GOP congresswoman from Florida who was part of a 1997 probe into Army sexual assault charges, promises that the panel "will not be sidetracked by those with ideological or political agendas." She added, "We are not here to reopen the debate on women in the military, and the myriad of other issues related to that debate. The priority of this panel is to ensure today's young women cadets of the Air Force Academy have a safe and secure learning environment."
Please help ensure that Chairwoman Fowler is able to fulfill that promise by contacting your Senators now!
Enter your zip-code in the box below to urge your Senators to demand that:- a victim advocate serve on the civilian
investigatory panel - the panel be required to consult with professionals in the field of sexual violence
- victims are provided a safe and confidential setting in which to testify before the panel
- future panels have congressional oversight
(Note: in addition, your message will be forwarded to President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of the Air Force James Roche.)
| NOTE: If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual or domestic violence in the military, contact the Miles Foundation for confidential advice or services at: 203-270-7861 or e-mail them at: milesfdn@... |
Click to unsubscribe.
| | | | | | | |
|
|
|
--
Valerie L'Herrou
Coalition Projects Director
Virginians Aligned Against Sexual Assault
434.979.9002
http://www.vaasa.org
|
|
Having problems with message search?
Fill out this form to ensure your group is one of the first to be migrated to the new message search system.
