Why Males Vets Are Committing Sexual Assault

Posted by Lucinda Marshall of The Feminist Peace Network via AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK

A study by the Department of Justice (Gone-zo's crew) made the not-so-surprising discovery that trained killers and rapists continue to kill and rape when they get back to the civilian population. Vets are twice as likely as civilians to do time for sexual assault. 99% of incarcerated vets are male, so this is a guy problem, not a result of training or PTSD from serving in a war zone, both of which affect women in the military, too. These guys rape. They rape civilian women in the countries they're stationed in and hide the crime by classifying them "collateral damage"; they rape female soldiers serving with them; they rape and beat women, wives included, when they get back to the states.

You can't create a damaged, inhuman killing and raping machine and then expect them to just go back to being normal when they get back home. We can't confine them and we don't retrain them (if that's even possible) so how about this - let's stop creating them. Let's be humans, and treat other humans with some dignity and respect. Let's stop thinking of women as "the spoils of war" or some kind of possession, but people with rights of their own. Let's stop supporting media that degrades women and let's get serious about punishing violence against women.

Women are 54% of the population. We matter. We count. We are not "collateral" to be "damaged" and we should never be terrorized with rape for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Let's take our power back, ladies, and put an end to patriarchal terrorism at home and abroad.