What Happens When You Report Sexual Harassment or Assault in the Military
By: Tara Bosier
Tags: Military, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Rape Culture, Rape

What Happens When You Report Sexual Harassment or Assault in the Military

There’s zero tolerance, but only for those who are bold enough to report it

I wish I could say I knew a woman that wasn’t sexually harassed and/or assaulted in the military, but I don’t. Here’s what happens when we speak out.

Photo by Piotr Wilk on Unsplash

My friend Brandi said it perfectly while speaking out against sexual violence in the military:

“There’s zero tolerance, but only for those who are bold enough to report it.” — Brandelyn Topeze, USN Retired

I was added as a moderator to a prominent group on Facebook for women that were victims of sexual crimes while serving in the military. As I write, there are 8.1 thousand members, with hundreds more women requesting access. Within days of the creation of the group, the MCPON (the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy — the highest ranking enlisted member there is) learned of our group and asked to meet us.

Inside the group, thousands of women have given their testimony of their assaults and sexual harassment, as this is a daily experience for many women serving in the military. Testimony after testimony rolls in by the minute — I am constantly being alerted to notifications.

They talk about their experiences, how they were silenced, and how they were even punished or discharged from the military while their attackers were not only allowed to stay in, but some were even promoted. Even those that had overwhelming amounts of evidence were silenced, watching the men that raped them thrive as their own careers were threatened.

Men in positions of authority constantly abuse their power and privilege and bully women into silence by telling them that they would ruin their careers or even threatened to kill.

Many spoke about how they were drugged by the very men that swore to protect them. Others talked about how they were interrogated at every level and made to feel like a whore for standing up for themselves or had their mental health weaponized against them. Over and over again, woman after woman said that their attacker went on to harass and rape other women because they were not held accountable for their actions.

Within the group, I posted a poll that 103 women participated in.

All 103 women were sexually assaulted and spoke to their experiences, most selecting more than one response.

Here is the breakdown:

Intimidated to keep quiet: 40

Investigators did not care and he went unpunished: 28

Transferred commands, negative outcome: 17

Victim was punished: 12

Command was very supportive and helped: 12

Mental health was weaponized against the victim: 10

Case was dismissed without notifying the victim: 10

Nothing happened to the perpetrator: 10

Further harassed: 9

NCIS or authorities involved did not believe me: 8

One of the few that got justice: 6

Received death threats: 4

NCIS investigated, he was found guilty, he was allowed to finish his discharge and obtained an Other Than Honorable discharge (which may allow some benefits): 3

Transferred commands, positive outcome: 2

Perpetrator was knocked down one paygrade as punishment: 1

Command took away Military Protective Order while awaiting General Court Martial: 1

Painted as a whore by the defense at Court Martial: 1

MCPON Smith, if you read this…

Know that this has been going on longer than your entire career in the Navy, but you have the power to change what is currently still happening under your watch. We did not join the military to be sexually harassed and assaulted and then cast aside by our commands because we wanted it to stop and our abusers held accountable for their actions.

Sexual harassment and sexual assault are crimes. Treat them as if they are crimes and stop allowing commands to sweep it under the rug.

MCPON Smith, it’s up to you to root the sexual corruptions out of commands.

We don’t want social justice. We demand change.

We must right the ship.