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07/14/2004:
"Scores of US Servicewomen Raped by Fellow Soldiers"
DemocracyNowFemale troops serving in Iraq are reporting a lurking enemy in their own camps: fellow American soldiers who sexually assault them.
So far, 176 female troops have reported being sexually-assaulted by fellow service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of sex crimes in the military is probably much higher since a large number of cases go unreported.
Among the most disturbing trends, is the military's treatment of sexual assault cases. Women have reported poor medical treatment, lack of counseling and incomplete criminal investigations - some say they were even threatened with punishment after reporting assaults.
A task force appointed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called for sweeping changes in May, but victim advocates expressed alarm, saying emergency needs of women overseas were basically ignored.
Rumsfeld ordered the investigation in February after The Denver Post first reported that dozens of female troops were returning from the war zone seeking counseling at civilian crisis centers.full article/interview
Spain Mobilizes Against the Scourge of Machismo: New York Times
MADRID, July 10 - The men, it seems, are killing their women.
...Some conservative newspaper commentators have argued that men are also victims, since they sometimes kill themselves after they murder their women.
Spain's Conference of Catholic Bishops, meanwhile, issued a manifesto on sexual morality in February that blames the sexual revolution for the abuse of women. "The sexual revolution has separated sex from marriage, and procreation from love," it said. Its "bitter fruits" are "domestic violence, sexual abuse, and homeless children."full article
"Their" women? Why does the author use this pronoun? Would she have used it if she were referring to American women? Does even the title suggest that the abuse of women is a quaint Hispanic cultural problem?
When are we going to come clean about those generic terms 'sexual violence,' 'domestic violence'? These two stories are about MALE violence. The vast majority of the violence in the world is MALE violence. If we can't even pinpoint the proper adjective how can we begin to deal with this issue, the issue of MALE violence, which lies at the root of thousands of years of bloodshed? Is it progressive and enlightened to invite females onto the battlefield alongside the males only for them to be victims of rape by their comrades? 'Feminism' is a dirty word, and we are advised to be on the lookout in our neighborhoods for 'terrorists', when for most raped and battered women, the terrorist sleeps in her bed.
'Property of the US Army'. I guess so.
