Sexual Trauma In The Military

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The problem of military sexual trauma is one of the essential problems of the armed forces of any country. It is the sexual activity or assault carried out by a soldier against another one in the process of military service. This term should not be confused with the rape against the civil population of a country during a war or military occupation. Sexual trauma in the army is widespread in the countries where military service is also permissible for women as in the majority of cases this crime is committed against the female soldiers. At the same time, the problem of homosexual military trauma is widespread in the armies of the countries where exists the phenomenon of subordinating humiliating activities against the newcomers. Military sexual …show more content…

The surveys of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs showed that 41% of women and 4% of men have experienced sexual assault or threatening in the process of military service. The research stated that the majority of victims are women because the U.S. Army is predominantly composed of heterosexual male soldiers. The participation of the United States in the recent military conflicts in the Near East has increased the demand for the soldiers. Due to this fact, more female soldiers have to participate in the military actions, where the stressful suasion causes an increase in the risk of sexual assault. This demand also caused the problem of inattentiveness in the process of selection of candidates for military service. Thus, the individuals, who had psychological problems or minor conflicts with the law, are accepted for the military service. The behavior of such people may become another source of the appearance of sexual assault …show more content…

Many victims of the assaults refuse to provide the information on the cases of military sexual trauma due to the fact that they feel shame or suffer from other psychological problems caused by the assault. Gayathri (2013) states that on June 5, 2013, at a Senate Armed Services Committee there took place the review of the situation of military sexual trauma in the Armed forces of the United States. This problem caused severe indignation of the senators. They suggested adopting the law that allows the victim to inform on the cases of sexual assault without communicating with the direct commander. It is particularly helpful in the case if the threatening comes from the military