By: Elizabeth Hilpert

Elizabeth Hilpert — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:17:57 +0000

Women in the war zones have the same war zone experiences as their male counterparts–but it is shameful that they have the added stressors of constantly fearing for their lives because of lawlessness and cover-ups of sexual assaults. An hornorably discharged veteran, I was in Iraq for 15 months as a contractor, injured twice after refusing to comply with sexual demands (and reprisals–another company’s security even reported the stalking behaviour of one man who hit me). Both times, I was merely moved to another site. To my knowledge, nothing was done with the men. Part of the problem, I believe, is that while Bibles were banned, Maxim magazines and pin-ups–nude pin-ups for quite awhile– were permitted/encouraged in many of the work areas. The pin-ups depicted women as “meat” or “toys”. Added to that, some units openly referred to women in demeaning terms, and they did not mean “B.abe I.n T.otal C.ontrol of H.erself. Many of the CHUs (Containerized Housing Units), when we moved into them from tents, could be easily opened by sliding an ID card between the door and the door jam. More than once I had men trying to break in at night. There were many felons hired, too, and though some are very patriotic and great workers, we read what recidivism rates are…and in the war zoen all too often, in my pinion, they were given ready access to guns, vehicles, women’s sleeping areas. Most men were decent, but a very small percentage were very dangerous. Most men were very supportive of women, but also most would not get involved to stop the harm, because if they did–from what I saw–they were likely to be terminated. The woman on the other side of my CHU told me that she had to move to another site because the older female H.R. Rep. told her, when she reported the sexual harassment she was experiencing, that she should have known what she was getting into when choosing to work in a male-dominated field and therefore the most they (KBR) would do would be to move her to another camp. KBR pursued Jamie Leigh Jones all the way to the Supreme Court, until the Franken Amendment passed, to try to thwart her from bringing her rapist(s) to court because being raped in Iraq they considered to be part of the work environment and therefore subject to company-chosen arbitration. It is hell when you have reason to fear every hour for your safety and your very life because you do not know when the next attack will occur. I am a survivor. Many others, like Lavena Johnson terribly are not so fortunate.

By: lmond-Ward

lmond-Ward — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:24:40 +0000

Sexual assualts will ALWAYS be a constant until the military confronts the issue head-on and stand behind the women who report sexual assualt/harassment. As a former senior enlisted soldier in the Army, I too was sexually harassed by a Command Sergeant Major, and this was covered up by the Army, DESPITE the overwhelming physical evidence presented. His filthy behavior was well known by Army officials, however, instead of addressing the issue, removing him from the ranks, they virtually gave him free reign to continue this behavior by relocating him outside of the United States. His written request for “worn” underwear was evidentially something the Army encouraged. Those who were in a position to demand punishment, but didn’t, are a total disgrace to women in uniform. May their female loved ones never endure what they have condoned!

Comments on: ABC News on military sexual assaults

By: Elizabeth Hilpert

By: lmond-Ward