Posted on Jul 21, 2015
Do you think that "sexual assault" in the military has become like the "Red Scare" or the "Salem Witch Trials"?
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Sexual assault is not acceptable, but has the military been caught up in a politically driven frenzie to the point that we have begun to overlook the rights of the accused simply because he is accused? Recently at least one DNA expert of USACIL has come into question for improper actions, have others in other organizations fallen into this same frenzied state?
Sexual Assault
Crime
Supreme Court
Court Martial
Constitution
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
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No, I do not.... This is huge and real problem, that we have turned a blind eye to for decades, and which are just recently getting a handle on.... This included a dramatic paradigm shift from trying to prevent victims from being victims (victim centric) and assuming most allegations of sexual assault are false... to a focus on identifying the predators and stopping them (perpetrator focus). False allegations are statistically very few. This remains a huge problem, and it will not ever stop until we all decide (all of use) this is not acceptable. Bad things happen, when good people do nothing.
No one in the USDB, is guilty, if you ask them...
No one in the USDB, is guilty, if you ask them...
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CPO (Join to see)
COL Charles Williams - I foresee many more bumps and bruises before we reach that point. Unfortunately, many victims will pay the price for the bogus rulings, both as the accused and the victim. I hope we see the end soon though.
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MSG Mark Million
I agree that this is a big problem and needs to be addressed firmly, swiftly and quickly in every case. However I would say that after multiple briefings on this subject in a year for several years, that we all have the point if we have any intention of compliance. I, and I hope everyone else here agree that Sexual Assault is in all circumstances unacceptable. I do however hate having to be trained, retrained, and then retrained some more on something I am and always have been compliant with.
The true fact of the matter is you can't fix someone who is the type of person who will commit this type of act. You only teach them to hide it better. I won't tolerate sexual harassment in any way shape or form, nor will I tolerate those who don't find it to be inacceptable. But I'm frustrated with the constant effects of the retraining. My outlook is that a soldier should only need to be told such things once, leaders should never look the other way, and we must make it an atmosphere where victims will never feel hesitant to report. You can't make a bad apple good by telling it that it's wrong, you simply refine the sorting process and get rid of the bad apples. I would say most soldiers almost feel punished by having to hear this lecture repeatedly. Fixing this is not about the perpetrators, it's about the leaders who have failed and continue to fail to act, and creating an environment where victims are not afraid to report.
The true fact of the matter is you can't fix someone who is the type of person who will commit this type of act. You only teach them to hide it better. I won't tolerate sexual harassment in any way shape or form, nor will I tolerate those who don't find it to be inacceptable. But I'm frustrated with the constant effects of the retraining. My outlook is that a soldier should only need to be told such things once, leaders should never look the other way, and we must make it an atmosphere where victims will never feel hesitant to report. You can't make a bad apple good by telling it that it's wrong, you simply refine the sorting process and get rid of the bad apples. I would say most soldiers almost feel punished by having to hear this lecture repeatedly. Fixing this is not about the perpetrators, it's about the leaders who have failed and continue to fail to act, and creating an environment where victims are not afraid to report.
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MSG Mark Million
MSG Mark Million -the second paragraph was meant to say you can't fix someone who is the type of person to commit this type of act.
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MSG Mark Million
Besides being in the military, I have a fulltime job and two as needed jobs. Every one of them requires me to listed no the same briefings every year. The Army 2-3 times where the other jobs are only once per year. It seems that everyone is lecturing on the problem, however the real problem is those that look the other way, and those that treat potential victims like suspects. This is not a problem that can ever be fully stamped out, but it can become not tolerated, overlooked or mishandled. Stomping out sexual harassment is unrealistic, but stomping on those who are reported after finding good supporting evidence is realistic. Making victims more comfortable with reporting is realistic. Changing the psychological profiles of bad people is unrealistic, and we need to focus on being good leaders and not looking the other way and supporting victims/potential victims. Even in the case of false accusations, punishing the false accusers creates a hostile environment towards potential victims and for that reason should be handled with the utmost care.
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This is a hugely complex subject, because it crosses so many lines.
When speaking of Sexual Assault, the areas that are large concern currently are Colleges and Military. Unfortunately, both of these areas have separate investigative processes, outside the standard Civilian (Legal) Courts. We've seen how convoluted the college system can get, and one of the issues we run into on that side is that Colleges will take actions to protect themselves over protecting the accused. The military system "generally" parallels the Civilian Court system, though there is a misunderstanding of how it works, which creates issues if you are an outsider looking in. This is not to say there not issues with ALL systems, but each has advantages and disadvantages.
Now, once we acknowledge that, we must also realize there is just a lot of bad information going around regarding Sexual Assault. Common "Statistics" which are repeated are incorrect, and debunked, yet persist. They are inflated, and create what can best called an aura of fear around the subject.
I don't believe the military justice system become susceptible to politics... however that does not mean people "near" it aren't. It doesn't take a Courts Martial to end a career, when just a hint of impropriety can do the same thing.
When speaking of Sexual Assault, the areas that are large concern currently are Colleges and Military. Unfortunately, both of these areas have separate investigative processes, outside the standard Civilian (Legal) Courts. We've seen how convoluted the college system can get, and one of the issues we run into on that side is that Colleges will take actions to protect themselves over protecting the accused. The military system "generally" parallels the Civilian Court system, though there is a misunderstanding of how it works, which creates issues if you are an outsider looking in. This is not to say there not issues with ALL systems, but each has advantages and disadvantages.
Now, once we acknowledge that, we must also realize there is just a lot of bad information going around regarding Sexual Assault. Common "Statistics" which are repeated are incorrect, and debunked, yet persist. They are inflated, and create what can best called an aura of fear around the subject.
I don't believe the military justice system become susceptible to politics... however that does not mean people "near" it aren't. It doesn't take a Courts Martial to end a career, when just a hint of impropriety can do the same thing.
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