english.aljazeera.net
Sexual assault within the ranks of the military is not a new problem. It is a systemic problem that has necessitated that the military conduct its own annual reporting on the crisis.
A 2003 Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal prompted the department of defense to include a provision in the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act that required investigations and reports of sexual harassment and assaults within US military academies to be filed. The personal toll is, nevertheless, devastating.
Military sexual trauma (MST) survivor Susan Avila-Smith is director of the veteran’s advocacy group Women Organizing Women. She has been serving female and scores of male clients in various stages of recovery from MST for 15 years and knows of its devastating effects up close.
“People cannot conceive how badly wounded these people are,” she told Al Jazeera, “Of the 3,000 I’ve worked with, only one is employed. Combat trauma is bad enough, but with MST it’s not the enemy, it’s our guys who are doing it. You’re fighting your friends, your peers, people you’ve been told have your back. That betrayal, then the betrayal from the command is, they say, worse than the sexual assault itself.”
On December 13, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking Pentagon records in order to get the real facts about the incidence of sexual assault in the ranks.
The Pentagon has consistently refused to release records that fully document the problem and how it is handled. Sexual assaults on women in the US military have claimed some degree of visibility, but about male victims there is absolute silence.
Pack Parachute, a non-profit in Seattle, assists veterans who are sexual assault survivors. Its founder Kira Mountjoy-Pepka, was raped as a cadet at the Air Force Academy. In July 2003 she was member of a team of female cadets handpicked by Donald Rumsfeld, at the time the secretary of defense, to tell their stories of having been sexually assaulted. The ensuing media coverage and a Pentagon investigation forced the academy to make the aforementioned major policy changes.
Report reveals alarming statistics
Mountjoy-Pepka often works with male survivors of MST. She stated in a telephone interview that four per cent of men in the military experience MST. “Most choose not to talk about it until after their discharge from the military, largely because the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in over 60 percent of MST cases is too overwhelming,” she informed Al Jazeera.
Last week the Pentagon released its “annual report on sexual harassment and violence at the military service academies”. At its three academies, the number of reports of sexual assault and harassment has risen a staggering 64 percent from last year.
The report attributes the huge increase to better reporting of incidents due to increased training and education about sexual assault and harassment. Veteran’s Administration (VA) statistics show that more than 50 percent of the veterans who screen positive for MST are men.
According to the US Census Bureau, there are roughly 22 million male veterans compared to less than two million female vets.
In Congressional testimony in the summer of 2008, Lt. Gen. Rochelle, the army chief of personnel, reported the little known statistic that 12 percent (approximately 260) of the 2,200 reported rapes in the military in 2007 were reported by military male victims. [Please click here to read the remainder of this article.]
Related article:
1. Rape within the U.S. military: 1 in 3 women service members sexually assaulted at least once..
The Islamic Workplace 
Maryamz Hz
October 23, 2011
Once again, the good and bad of us are in every nation and religion and culture of the world. As a Muslim lady I can tell you, that via the internet more male Muslims approach me for s.e.x than any other and want me to view their cams for se.x.ual reasons .I never oblige them. So I now avoid any chat, because they were very demeaning even after I told them I am not this way. They were telling me their wives dont please them and they do this everyday. Now while this isnt most Mus.lim men, I dont think its most sol.diers either. I think the majority of people in the world are good people. I think the difference here is A.rab or Mu.slim news is suppressed, we dont hear of all the crimes amongst us. Many people in the world prefer to be more open and honest, to solve their problems and dont hide this news from the world. Sorry to disappoint you Prince and others, but these things happen in your neck of the woods as well. We are always so quick to blame others and point fingers, yet we are not perfect either. Every human is important, no matter your color, your religion, your country or culture. When we start treating each other kindly and quit hating each other for what religion we represent or what country we are from, we will be more like the people God expected us to be and he created us equal, despite those of you who think you are better than the other(and this exists everywhere as well).At least in Am.erica, they have a voice to complain. At least in Am.erica, the woman is not punished because she was raped. At least in Am.erica , women do have a voice for equal justice.That country is well aware of their weaknesses, but at least they have the power for the most part to make changes. If we want to point fingers, it doesnt take us long to fnd our own faults, but we seem to have a tendency to think we have none? Look around, we have those amongst us that are every bit as guilty as others: (also read the comments)…there are a lot of these, thus Im only saying, we all have it amongst us, sadly. EVEN amongst Muslims, but Im not seeing those on these posts.
. ..”Banda Aceh. Having gang-raped and tortured a female student at the Langsa Shariah Police station in Aceh, the three officers responsible have forever blackened the name of the religious police as upholders of Islamic law”… A part of human rights here too?There are a lot more. All countries are afflicted with the very same issues, thats all I am saying.
http://www.iris.org.il/blog/archives/757-Pan-European-Arab-Muslim-Gang-Rape-Epidemic.html
http://www.arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article454867.ece
We all have guilty ones amongst us which shame us, and even Muslims have to admit, we also have our faults and those amongst us who are not good Muslims also….if we dont want others to judge us by a few of our bad Muslims, then we shouldnt judge all of them for a few of their bad ones also.Majority of non muslims dont hate all muslims, and we need to prove that we too, judge people as individuals, and not differently because of someones culture, religion etc. How can we create a peaceful world without dialogue, understanding and respect? It should be good against evil around the world, not Muslim vs non Muslim. And both sides have good and evil. May peace be upon the entire world, and we are the world, lets make it happen, it starts with us as individuals. Reaching out and talking to each other respectfully. Teaching and learning from each other, and maybe this will lead to more caring about each other. PEACE begins with ME, and YOU.