One in five military women has been the victim of sexual harassment or abuse. The U.S. Senate is finally listening to the outcry from the Service Women’s Action Network(SWAN). Will this really ever change
“One week before my unit was scheduled to return back to the United States, I was raped by another service member that had worked with our team,” former Army Technician Rebekah Havrilla told the U.S. Senate last week. “Initially, I chose not to do a report of any kind because I had no faith in my chain of command. The unit climate was extremely sexist and hostile in nature toward women.”
About 20 percent of military women report experiencing Military Sexual Trauma (MST), according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. This includes unwanted sexual touching or grabbing, threatening or offensive remarks about a person’s body or sexual activities, and threatening and unwelcome sexual advances. By comparison, only one in 100 men report MST.
