I was rendered speechless by Peter Cortland’s letter to the New Haven Register regarding sexual harassment in our military.
For the past month, there have been numerous articles addressing the epidemic of military sexual assault. Three times in May, a male uniformed military official whose job was to prevent sexual abuse has come under investigation for sexual abuse. On May 21, the Department of Defense released a survey estimating that 26,000 men and women in our armed forces were sexually assaulted in 2012, up from 19,000 in 2011. The DOD estimates that 12,000 were women soldiers; 14,000 were men (that’s right, Men!). Sixty-seven percent of women’s assaults happened on base, 19 percent in a war zone and 20 percent on a ship or field exercise. For male on male assaults, 73 percent happened on base and 26 percent in a combat zone. Fewer than 3,400 reported the incident. Most victims are reluctant to press charges because they fear retaliation from their superiors and ostracism from their units.
Mr. Cortland asks “who put the women there?” We have a volunteer military. The women put themselves there. President Barack Obama’s speeches about sexual harassment are not grossly insulting to our military personnel. Knowing the magnitude of the problem and NOT doing anything about it, that would be a gross insult to our soldiers.
Jack Mordente
Veterans Coordinator
Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven