thedrifter
04-26-07, 07:49 AM
DoD, Guard urged to investigate sex abuse
By Sam Hananel - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 26, 2007 7:10:15 EDT
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is urging the Pentagon and National Guard to investigate a report that thousands of military women have been sexually abused by other service members.
In a letter Wednesday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Sebelius and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano called on the military to root out sexual abuse and harassment in the armed forces and address the related health needs of female veterans.
The governors, both Democrats, cited a recent government-funded survey that found nearly one-third of female veterans seeking health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs claimed they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service.
Of the sample of women surveyed, 37 percent said they were raped more than once and 14 percent reported that they were gang-raped.
Another study financed by the VA suggests that rates of sexual harassment and assault rise during wartime and found that women who suffered sexual assault were more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than those exposed to combat.
Both studies were reported last month in the New York Times Magazine.
“What disturbs us most is to learn that this sexual abuse is committed against America’s women-in-combat not by our enemies, but by some male officers and enlisted men of the very United States military in which these women bravely serve and fight,” the governors wrote.
Both governors also plan to order the heads of the National Guard units in Kansas and Arizona to investigate the treatment of women in the Guard.
Spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said Sebelius’ office already has spoken with the office of Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, adjutant general of the Kansas Guard.
“They will also talk about what can be reviewed with Kansas policies,” Corcoran said. “We as a state have to focus on how our programs are working once Guard members return from deployment and assist with any concerns or issues they’re dealing with.”
As governor, Sebelius is commander in chief of the Kansas National Guard. But once National Guard members are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, they are under federal jurisdiction.
After the state Guard offices conclude their investigations, Sebelius and Napolitano said they will bring those findings to Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
“We are confident that you would agree that this situation is intolerable and call on you to demonstrate the leadership we, and the American people, expect of our secretary of defense when the men and women who courageously serve our nation are subjected to abuse or mistreatment of any kind,” the governors wrote.
Ellie
By Sam Hananel - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 26, 2007 7:10:15 EDT
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is urging the Pentagon and National Guard to investigate a report that thousands of military women have been sexually abused by other service members.
In a letter Wednesday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Sebelius and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano called on the military to root out sexual abuse and harassment in the armed forces and address the related health needs of female veterans.
The governors, both Democrats, cited a recent government-funded survey that found nearly one-third of female veterans seeking health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs claimed they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service.
Of the sample of women surveyed, 37 percent said they were raped more than once and 14 percent reported that they were gang-raped.
Another study financed by the VA suggests that rates of sexual harassment and assault rise during wartime and found that women who suffered sexual assault were more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than those exposed to combat.
Both studies were reported last month in the New York Times Magazine.
“What disturbs us most is to learn that this sexual abuse is committed against America’s women-in-combat not by our enemies, but by some male officers and enlisted men of the very United States military in which these women bravely serve and fight,” the governors wrote.
Both governors also plan to order the heads of the National Guard units in Kansas and Arizona to investigate the treatment of women in the Guard.
Spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said Sebelius’ office already has spoken with the office of Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, adjutant general of the Kansas Guard.
“They will also talk about what can be reviewed with Kansas policies,” Corcoran said. “We as a state have to focus on how our programs are working once Guard members return from deployment and assist with any concerns or issues they’re dealing with.”
As governor, Sebelius is commander in chief of the Kansas National Guard. But once National Guard members are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, they are under federal jurisdiction.
After the state Guard offices conclude their investigations, Sebelius and Napolitano said they will bring those findings to Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau.
“We are confident that you would agree that this situation is intolerable and call on you to demonstrate the leadership we, and the American people, expect of our secretary of defense when the men and women who courageously serve our nation are subjected to abuse or mistreatment of any kind,” the governors wrote.
Ellie