News
Oscar Winner Kickstarts Documentary to Expose U.S. Military’s Role in International Sex Trafficking
Tuesday, August 6, 2013 | Category: Human Trafficking/Sexual Exploitation - National
Sex traffickers in the Phillipines guised as legitimate entertainment recruiters contract women, paying for their singing lessons, E-6 passports, uniforms and flights to South Korea. In Korea, they are forced into prostitution through debt bondage. Producer David Goodman stated the only reason these women are there are to service military personnel and contractors in Korea. The documentary went under cover to expose the crime, the entrapment, the shame, the military culture, and the long term effects of the U.S., South Korean and Philippine governments complicitly turning blind eyes to this crime against humanity for over a century. He considers his upcoming documentary, "Singers" in the Band, a "companion piece" to "The Invisible War" documentary, released in 2012, about sexual assault in the U.S. military.
Wounded Veteran Congresswoman Eviscerates Man Accused Of Abusing Veterans Disability
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 | Category: VA Benefits Claims - National
Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) 'had a heated exchange' with a man who claimed to be an injured veteran. The Committee for Oversight and Government Reform reported defraud of the government for millions of dollars in aid and federal incentives. He never served on active duty, received a 30% disability rating, and pursued a government contract for the company he worked for.
Women in Service Review Implementation Plans
Friday, June 21, 2013 | Category: Department of Defense - National
The Department of Defense will proceed in a measured and responsible way to open positions to women in all Service branches. Notification to Congress is required prior to opening these positions. Full implementation by the services should occur by Jan. 1, 2016.
Military Sexual Violence: From Frontline to Fenceline
Monday, June 17, 2013 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
Cynthia Enloe, a leading feminist scholar of international relations, suggests that to unerstand assaults on U.S. military women requires examination of the routine incidents of military violence against civilians in combat situations and outside the fences surrounding U.S. bases overseas. Being trained to kill means seeing “others” as foreign or less-than-human. Gender, masculinity, racism, and national chauvinism are interrelated factors.
Military Chiefs to Face Tough Sexual Assault Questions
Sunday, June 2, 2013 | Category: Military Justice - National
Military service chiefs will testify about their plans to deal with the burgeoning crisis of sexual assault in the ranks. They will face a group of female senators determined to change a culture they call demeaning to women.
At Military Sexual Assault Hearing, Expect Mostly Men
Sunday, June 2, 2013 | Category: Military Justice - National
Military leaders insisted for decades that they had the tools to stop sexual assault within the ranks, but no “silver bullet” solution. After years of trainings, public awareness campaigns, and other administrative directives failed to decrease the rate of military sexual violence, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold its first full hearing in nearly 10 years, one that could lead to fundamental changes to the way the armed forces deal with a problem Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has called a “scourge.”
The Lethality of Loneliness: We Now Know How It Can Ravage Our Body and Brain
Monday, May 13, 2013 | Category: Health Care - National
U.S. Army psychologist Major Paul Lester is working with Cacioppo and Hawkley testing their social-cognition curriculum on Army bases. The classes hone soldiers’ social skills and teach platoon leaders how to better spot the lonely in their ranks and help them fit in better. Soldiers’ lives are full of social disruption, including transfers from base to base and other significant continuous changes. Reports suggest that people who have gone through the training fall prey to post-traumatic stress disorder less often.
Why the Military Has a Sexual Assault Problem
Friday, May 10, 2013 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
The military’s campaign to prevent sexual assault is a throw back to the 1950s. It basically tells servicemen not to have sex with women when they’re drunk. More significantly, the campaign is silent about the actual demographics of sexual assault in the military. According to the Department of Defense's own data, more than half of the military’s victims are men. PBS Frontline reported: "Its most recent report, released this week, estimated that 26,000 service members experienced “unwanted sexual contact,” which includes rape, attempted rape and unwanted sexual touching. Of these, an estimated 12,100 were women—and 13,900 were men. Fewer than half of the incidents involved alcohol."
Feres Doctrine and the Obstacles to Justice for Military Rape Victims
Thursday, May 9, 2013 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
Military sexual assault victims face a myriad of substantial obstacles. Their judge chooses the jury, and change the charge, reduce the sentence, and overturn a verdict. The judges may not have any legal education, background, or knowledge. Additionally, with the Feres Doctrine, the Tort Claims Act was expanded, banning servicemembers from suing for any injuries that “arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to service.” Its "stretch" prevents servicemembers from suing the military, including victims of rape. In essence, servicemembers are blocked from civil courts.
First Person: Job Market is a Tough Sell for Women Veterans
Monday, April 8, 2013 | Category: Employment - National
In a January 2013 survey of more than 4,000 veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) found that 16 percent were unemployed. Among these unemployed newer vets, 33.8 percent had gone without a job for more than a year, while 17 percent had been without a job for more than two years.