I was raped twice in Iraq – US veteran speaks out

US Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Sandra Lee, who was raped twice while serving in Iraq, shared her story in an interview with RT.

According to a new study by the US Department of Defense, one in three women in the military is raped. Veterans for Peace add to those statistics, claiming 75% of raped women in the military fail to report it.

Sandra Lee has decided to break the silence five years after she was assaulted by a fellow soldier. She had been rebuilding schools in the middle of a war zone in Iraq when the incident occurred.

(read full article here)
rt.com...

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More criminal activity by the U.S. Troops...

If they will rape their own.....what do you think they will do to Iraqis..??

EDIT TO ADD: Semper Fi....

[edit on 12-1-2010 by rainfall]

I think it is offensive to wrap all service people into a "they" statement when dealing with one sick individual.
Lets try and keep some perspective on this, this is horrible, as horrible as any form of rape. It does not condemn a country, society, or military.

I think very serious questions need to be asked regarding the culture of silence, in the military when it comes to rape. Why are these women not reporting it and what can be done to ensure that they are not "prevented" in doing so... What is their reality, when it comes to this... Rape is a disturbing and disgusting truth that needs to be confronted, not swept away and buried in silence.
________________________________________
ETA:

More criminal activity by the U.S. Troops...

If they will rape their own.....what do you think they will do to Iraqis..??

EDIT TO ADD: Semper Fi....

This is just inflammatory and unnecessary. If you were really concerned about the issue, than you would have to know that these flippant statements detract from the message. It taints the thread and makes your motives suspicious. Useless, unless your real agenda is something other than the issue of rape?





[edit on 12-1-2010 by LadySkadi]

On this one I will have to post, yes it is sad but raping fellow American soldiers is not new be in Iraq or not.

No only female soldiers have to be facing this type of behaviour of their fellow members in Iraq but also from private sector working in Iraq as well.

Is many instances of complains about the abuse but as usual everything is sweep under the table for the right amount of money and believe me is been a lot of money been passed around.

Topic:
Iraq
Wednesday, Mar 7, 2007 07:42 EST
The private war of women soldiers
Many female soldiers say they are sexually assaulted by their male comrades and can't trust the military to protect them. "The knife wasn't for the Iraqis," says one woman. "It was for the guys on my own side."

The sad thing also is that since the Bush administration data about the rapes and abuse has never been collected

Comprehensive statistics on the sexual assault of female soldiers in Iraq have not been collected, but early numbers revealed a problem so bad that former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ordered a task force in 2004 to investigate. As a result, the Defense Department put up a Web site in 2005 designed to clarify that sexual assault is illegal and to help women report it. It also initiated required classes on sexual assault and harassment. The military's definition of sexual assault includes "rape; nonconsensual sodomy; unwanted inappropriate sexual contact or fondling; or attempts to commit these acts."

www.salon.com...

This no hoax or propaganda this plain cover up.

How female U.S. soldiers in Iraq are at growing risk of being raped and assaulted... by their own male colleagues
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 8:22 PM on 16th April 2009

www.dailymail.co.uk... A

Rape Statistics and What the U.S. Military Should Be Doing

womenandwar.wordpress.com...

I'm a veteran, and when my niece came of age and wanted to join the military, I told her the unvarnished truth - that there would be a very high probability she would be raped while in the service.

The military does very little to police it's own, and it creates an atmosphere of sexual hostility towards females. It's a male fraternity, and any females trying to be a part of it should be forewarned.

Rape by other soldiers has been happening since the mid 80s.
As a female soldier in the Army then, I knew of it happening a lot. Most female sodiers did not report it back then. I'm sure they don't now either.

Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
I'm a veteran, and when my niece came of age and wanted to join the military, I told her the unvarnished truth - that there would be a very high probability she would be raped while in the service.

.

There's a silly thread out there about the US being in Afgan

to "protect the girls" , better hope that OP doesn't see this,

He will attack the US to "protect the girls"

reply to post by rainfall


I served, but I think the numbers are off, While I have heard and seen rape cases; ( I will not dispute that at all) However, A soldier who is raped no longer needs to notify there chain-of-command, they can go around them and be placed in protective custody or the offending soldier and sometimes the chain-of-command can be removed.

A soldier who rapes another Soldier is scumbag, but in some instance i have heard where a women will cry rape and that wasnt the case....

This kinda crap happens everywhere OP, soldiers are no different, to attempt to make everytroop look like a two-bit rapist is low even for the likes of you.

She's back...........not enough stars and flags on the last thread? Yes, this happens, all over the world, not just in the US Military......however again, you go after the American troops.

What is interesting about the rapes in the military, as it is in the rest of society, is that the number of rapists is much smaller than the number of people raped.

This means the same person is getting away with it, multiple times. They do, because they can. We need to empower women to speak up.

The problem with the military is a much larger portion males make up the population. This changes the entire dynamic.

With X amount of males, Y will be rapists.

Y doesn't change if X is the amount of females, or X/5. And if there are one fifth the amount of females then males, the same amount will become victims.

This is not a law or anything, but an idea.

Also, the fact that women make up so much less of a proportion, it may make them less empowered to come out and speak of their rapist. Which would then, allow the bastard to do it again.

Overall, with my experience in the military, and a little bit of speculation, I must say that it is unlikely that the men in the military are more prone to becoming rapists. It is just harder to catch them and, proportionally, less females.

From my experience in the military, I do not recommend any women to enter it without knowledge of what they could be facing.

I do not blame the service itself, but the type of crowd it attracts.

Come on. A bunch of physical "badass" guys (most soldiers think and nothing wrong with it) all tucked together.

The service is a place for the stereotypical guy.

Horny. Physical.

Toss a woman in there it will be a mosh pit.

I don't think it's as simple as that. College campuses have a problem, as well.

It's not an issue that just the military deals with. However, the military seems to have this "culture" or "code" that prevents the issue from being confronted and systematically dealt with.

I would like to know if the incidents are increasing, decreasing or remaining the same over the years and whether or not recognition and confrontation of the issue has increased, decreased or remained the same. There really isn't any way to know this though, if it's not being reported.

So again, it comes back to why not? What's preventing the reporting?





[edit on 12-1-2010 by LadySkadi]

In my view there can be only one solution for this...

A thorough investigation and have the offender be raped in one of the US state prisons....

Originally posted by Hack28
I think it is offensive to wrap all service people into a "they" statement when dealing with one sick individual.
Lets try and keep some perspective on this, this is horrible, as horrible as any form of rape. It does not condemn a country, society, or military.

Originally posted by rainfall

Originally posted by adifferentbreed
She's back...........not enough stars and flags on the last thread? Yes, this happens, all over the world, not just in the US Military......however again, you go after the American troops.

Hi neighbor,

Did you give me a S&F......

Of all the posts asking you questions and trying to carry on a conversation regarding the topic YOU presented you chose to answer this one?

In this way?

You couldnt be more translucent in your intentions and i find it despicable that you go about it in this manner.

You deserve a stern but fair lecture.

reply to post by rainfall


That's all you have to say?
Seriously?
Your agenda is showing, again.

Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
I'm a veteran, and when my niece came of age and wanted to join the military, I told her the unvarnished truth - that there would be a very high probability she would be raped while in the service.

The military does very little to police it's own, and it creates an atmosphere of sexual hostility towards females. It's a male fraternity, and any females trying to be a part of it should be forewarned.

This guy said all there is to say.

Originally posted by Hack28

Of all the posts asking you questions and trying to carry on a conversation regarding the topic YOU presented you chose to answer this one?

I don't know what thread you're reading, but I did not see one question asked?

reply to post by Blackmarketeer

reply to post by Sean48

No, no, no. Sorry guys, but calling it "status quo" means it's accepted and to be expected. Women do not have to accept this as "the way it is" it's wrong. It's the status quo that needs to be changed, not that women need to understand the environment and accept it.








[edit on 12-1-2010 by LadySkadi]