Written by Jude McCafferty, BA Hons History, Politics and International Relations
This is the fifth in our series of blog posts by students on the Feminism and Politics class 2021. Click here for the previous post by Mary Anne Keegan on the feminist case for the abolition of the British monarchy.
CW: Discussion of sexual assault and rape
“Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of All Who Threaten It” is the perfect slogan for the U.S. military. The irony is, however, that those who threaten are often members of the military itself. In recent months, a selection of TikTok videos focused on sexual assault, rape and trauma within the U.S. Military have gone viral. The TikTok account named ‘gwotthot’ belongs to a Marine Corps servicewoman named Dalina and depicts her struggles in finding justice for herself and other service-members who have been sexually assaulted or raped during their time in the U.S. military. Several different videos have been posted by Dalina, some captioned #silentwar, and they show her preparing for her own court trial and advocating for other victims. As Dalina declares “This is the reality for so many men and women in the military and it is swept under the rug”.
Often noted as a “weapon of war”, soldiers and officials have used rape and sexual assault to exert political power and dominance over indigenous communities, states or nations.[1] Sexual assault also occurs within the U.S. military, however, to the extent that it has been referred to as “an occupational hazard of military service”.[2] Service members have experienced abuse that no-one should expect in their workplace, a place in which you should feel most valued and appreciated. One of the most notorious examples was the Tailhook Scandal of 1991, where up to 83 women and seven men were sexually assaulted at a Tailhook Convention in a Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas.
However, the problem is not a one-off and it does not belong in the past. Jane Harman, former House of Representatives member, claims that “a woman is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire”. It has been reported that one in five women in the U.S. will get raped in her lifetime, and that when a woman joins the military, that likelihood increases to one in three. The Department of Defense annual report on sexual assault for the fiscal year 2019 found that “an estimated 24.2 percent of active-duty women and an estimated 6.3 percent of active-duty men indicated experiencing sexual harassment” and that “active duty women who experiences sexual harassment were at three times greater risk for sexual assault than those who did not”.
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| Source: statista.com - https://www.statista.com/chart/17887/the-estimated-number-of-sexual-assaults-in-the-us-military/ (accessed July 2021) |
Victims of sexual assault in the U.S. military are likely to face significant challenges in their search for justice, compensation and acknowledgement. In the documentary The Invisible War (2012), Captain Anu Bhagwati, Director of the Service Women’s Action Network, points out that 80% of women victims in the general population, never mind the military, tend not to report their abuse. In addition, as feminist scholars like Stephanie Szitanyi [3] argue, the military are very selective in their acknowledgement and handling of sexual assault cases. Sexual assault and rape are often considered a ‘danger’ or ‘risk’ of the job; a concept which perfectly demonstrates the patriarchal and male-dominated character of the institution of the military. Furthermore, victims are incredibly unlikely to report assaults because “within the military, the perpetrator of sexual assault is often the victim’s supervisor and superior”.[4] Finally, many sexual assault campaigns and training videos within the military have been problematically focused on ‘victim-blaming’. They target prevention methods that can be taken by the victims (e.g., not walking home alone, or always being alert) instead of tackling the real core of the problem, the abusers.
Feminist approaches to the sexual and gender-based violence [SGBV] inflicted by the military delve into many different causal explanations and socialisation theories. They often focus on ideas of gender-based power, male-bonding and military masculinities. For example, Sarah Davies and Jacqui True point out that SGBV in conflict situations reflects power relations and the gender norms and roles in wider society, and that it is likely to be seriously under-reported.[5] Ben Wadham argues that the U.S. military functions very similarly to a fraternity, which he sees as an inherently violent and obscene structure, within which members use gender and sexuality as a form of group identity to intimidate and abuse their power.[6] Take the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity for example, whose initials and practices have earned them the nickname ‘Sexual Assault Expected’. Scandals like Tailhook in 1991 perfectly exemplify this fraternal, or ‘fratriarchal’ nature of violence within the military. Wadham makes reference to the concept of “ball-walking” and the notorious “gauntlet” tradition at this convention. Such actions are seen by perpetrators and those who turn a blind eye as simply boys behaving badly. When speaking to the New York Times in 1993, James D. Ramage – a former Naval Aviator – said; “The behaviour was juvenile, but it certainly wasn’t criminal”.
Gender stereotypes around masculinity, and the ways in which they are invoked in military training, also play a role here. As Claire Duncanson notes, “The archetypal military masculinity has been associated with combat and force; the idea that war makes men, and men make war”. Conversely, peace is feminized and associated with women.[7] With the increasing representation of women in the military, Szitanyi argues that the untiring sexual harassment and abuse within the organisation could perhaps be explained as a “tendency to reassert masculinity” - the masculinity that ostensibly makes the military.[8]
More hopefully, the viral internet story of Dalina not only exposes the still-festering wound of sexual assault within th e U.S. military, but is also indicative what many feminist scholars are calling a fourth wave of feminism. The development of the internet and social media has allowed feminists to broadcast opinions, beliefs, and struggles at the click of a button, and enabled an increase in “callout culture”, where movements like #MeToo have been able to instantly “call out” misogyny and sexism across the globe. Dalina’s viral TikTok account demonstrates the efficiency of social media in its ability to publicise feminist struggle. Importantly, Dalina not only depicts her individual struggle but also advocates for other victims of sexual abuse within the U.S. military. While these victims may not yet be able to speak for themselves, it is clear that this form of activism is on the rise.
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| Source: Bell Magazine: https://belluwmadison.wordpress.com/2018/12/11/the-internet-is-the-new-frontier-for-fourth-wave-feminism/ (accessed July 2021) |
As feminists, it is important that we acknowledge not only sexual abuse and harassment outwith the institutions that serve to protect, but also within them. Most feminist literature focuses on the impact of military rape in war-torn or occupied societies.[9] Dalina’s case reminds us to pay close attention to the institution itself. Viral internet videos, lawsuits, and documentary films have all helped to broaden the discussion surrounding military rape and gender and sexual based violence. However, it is not enough. An institution like the military who promise to provide “life, liberty, the pursuit of all who threaten it” should be an institution where servicemembers feel protected and valued. As Kristina Bell, Sarah Stein and Ryan Hurley aptly conclude, “servicemembers, whose lives are devastated by ongoing military sexual crimes, deserve the commitment of others to uncover what too long remains hidden”.
Click here for the next post in the series, in which Emily Bryce discusses the kidnapping of Princess Latifa and the questions it raises about the treatment of women in the UAE
References
[2] quote from The Invisible War (2012). Documentary, dir.: Kirby Dick. Details here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2120152/
[3] Szitanyi, S., Gender Trouble in the U.S. Military: Challenges to Regimes of Male Privilege (Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020)
[4] Szitanyi, Gender Trouble, p.95
[5] Davies, S.E., & True, J. (2017), “The Politics of Counting and Reporting Conflict-Based Sexual and Gender-Based Violence: The Case of Myanmar”, International Feminist Journal of Politics, 19:1, pp. 4-21.
[6] Wadham. B., “Violence in the Military and Relations Among Men: Military Masculinities and ‘Rape Prone Cultures’” in Woodward, R. and Duncanson, C. eds. The Palgrave International Handbook of Gender and the Military (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), pp. 241-256.
[7] Duncanson, C., Forces for Good? Military Masculinities and Peacekeeping Operations (United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), p.2.
[8] Szitanyi, Gender Trouble, p.92
[9] Cohen, D.K. (2013), “Female Combatants and the
Perpetration of Violence: Wartime Rape in the Sierra Leone Civil War”, World
Politics, 65:3, pp. 383-415. Davies & True, ‘Reframing Conflict-Related
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence’; Hansen, L. (2000), “Gender, Nation, Rape:
Bosnia and the Construction of Security”, International Feminist Journal of
Politics, 3:1, pp. 55-75.
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