News
South Korea: A Thriving Sex Industry In A Powerful, Wealthy Super-State
Monday, April 8, 2013 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
South Korea, a wealthy, powerful Asian super-state, technology hub and stalwart U.S. ally, has a deep, dark secret. Prostitution and the sex trade flourish in South Korea just under the country’s shiny surface. Indeed, paid sex is available all over South Korea -- in coffee shops, shopping malls, the barber shop, hotels, motels, as well as the so-called juicy bars, frequented by American soldiers, and the red-light districts, which operate openly. Internet chat rooms and cell phones have opened up whole new streams of business for ambitious prostitutes and pimps.
Sexual Assault Victims No Longer Need to Fear Punishment for Treatment
Friday, April 5, 2013 | Category: Security Clearance - National
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper announced that all executive departments, including the CIA and the military, will not require those who have received mental health counseling for sexual assault to answer "yes" to Question 21 on the Standard Form 86 used for security clearances.
Trauma Sets Female Veterans Adrift Back Home
Wednesday, February 27, 2013 | Category: Housing/Experiencing Homelessness - National
Women veterans the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. They are often-invisible, "bouncing between sofa and air mattress, overnighting in public storage lockers, living in cars and learning to park inconspicuously on the outskirts of shopping centers to avoid the violence of the streets." Pathways to homelessness differ between male and female veterans. Military Sexual Trauma (MST), from assaults or harassment during their service which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, is a common pathway for women veterans.
‘The Invisible War’ Changing the Conversation on Rape in the Military
Monday, February 18, 2013 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
The 2012 documentary, "The Invisible War," offers servicemen and women's stories from all branches of the military about being sexually assaulted by another servicemember while serving in the military. The military climate from one victim's perspective is "designed to help women better deal with the inevitability of getting raped." This film has changed the conversation. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, two days after viewing the film, changed the reporting structure for victims.
Veteran Homlessness Drops 7 Percent, VA Says
Monday, December 10, 2012 | Category: Housing/Experiencing Homelessness - National
The number of U.S. homeless veterans counted on a single night during the Housing and Urban Development's annual Point-in-Time survey declined 7.2 percent from the previous year.
VA Launches New Women Veterans Health Care Initiative
Sunday, August 26, 2012 | Category: Health Care - National
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) launched a Women Veterans Health Transformation Initiative to achieve health equity and improve the environment of care.
Female Generals: The Pentagon’s First Pair of Four-Star Women
Monday, August 13, 2012 | Category: Department of Defense - National
Wolfenbarger became the second female four-star general in the history of the U.S. military in June. She assumed her command just as the first female four-star in U.S. history, Army General Ann Dunwoody, prepared to leave hers.
Military Hazing Has Got to Stop
Friday, August 3, 2012 | Category: Hazing - National
Representative Judy Chu, California's 32d Congressional District, lost a nephew to suicide after a hazing incident. After another hazing that ended in suicide in 2011, she wrote an OP-ED with this conclusion: 'Our military doesn’t have to abuse its own to be strong. We want to have the most capable and most advanced armed forces in the world. But as long as the military allows the young people we send to war to be hazed by their fellow soldiers without consequence, we won’t. The military must make it clear that hazing is absolutely unacceptable and that perpetrators will be severely punished. We must protect those who protect us.'
Homeless Women Veterans Face Significant Barriers in Accessing VA-Sponsored Housing
Sunday, April 1, 2012 | Category: Housing/Experiencing Homelessness - National
VA has been making facility and culture changes to better serve women veterans. It is also challenged with expanding that effort to homeless-veteran programs. According to a 2011 GAO report, both VA and HUD have not collected data on this segment of the homeless population and consequently, cannot plan appropriately to meet their veteran housing needs.
Sexual Assault Permeates U.S. Armed Forces
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
Katie Couric's interviews Jessica, an Army Apache helicopter maintenance crew member, who was assaulted and raped while assigned in South Korea. Jessica shares how she tried to fit into her unit, was not believed when she reported the assault, and ultimately left the Army continuing to struggle with assault and rape and the military's complicity with the alleged crime.