Tag Archive for "Military"

Posts Tagged Military

In their words.

Trigger warning

The words from this video were taken directly from the legal complaint against the Pentagon over their failure to respond to the sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape that the 15 plantiffs (and so many more) experienced while in the military. As upsetting as it is, I thought it was really powerful and had to be shared.

Trigger warning

By Vanessa • 13 years ago

In their words.

Trigger warning

By Feminist in Combat Boots • 13 years ago

Military Sexual Trauma lawsuit — the day after.

Imagine if you were the CEO of a large company and a lawsuit was just filed against you by one of the nation’s most powerful lawyer on behalf of seventeen former employees. Your former employees claim that they were raped by fellow colleagues while being employed by your company and that their allegations resulted in them being fired while the rapists were still being employed by the company. Every major media in the world from the Washington Post to the China Times made mention of the story detailing first person detail of the rape. All eyes are now on your company waiting for it to respond to the lawsuit and ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 13 years ago

Service members sue Pentagon for ignoring military rapes

Yesterday, more than a dozen current and former service members filed a lawsuit claiming the Pentagon has turned a blind eye to the rampant—and growing—problem of sexual assault in the military. MSNBC reports:

“The lawsuit, being filed by civil litigator Susan Burke, is an attempt to shine the spotlight on what Pentagon officials have acknowledged is a serious problem — a steady increase in reports of sexual abuse within the U.S. military. Last year, the Pentagon reported there had been 3,230 complaints of sexual abuse by members of the military services during fiscal year 2009, an 11 percent increase over the year before.

But Pentagon officials acknowledge that most cases go unreported — and of those that do, department figures indicate ...

“The lawsuit, being filed ...

By Vanessa • 13 years ago

The Post-DADT Battle for Trans Servicemembers

Transgender activist Autumn Sandeen stood with Dan Choi and other LGBT servicemembers outside of the White House. Via AP.

Amanda Hess has an important post from last week discussing the political issues surrounding the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal and the struggle that trans servicemembers have had and are facing now that DADT is on its way out. Between some feeling sold out to their fellow gay and lesbian servicemembers, to the growing campaign among trans activists for the right to serve, it’s a must-read:

[A]s the gays and lesbians who joined Sandeen in protest prepare for open military service, trans men and women are being warned to remain in the closet. The National Center ...

Transgender activist Autumn Sandeen stood with Dan Choi and other LGBT servicemembers outside of the White House. Via AP.

Amanda Hess has an important post from last week discussing the political issues surrounding the ...

By Courtney • 13 years ago

Dream Act deferred

As most of you probably know by now, The Senate blocked The Dream Act, a bill that would have created a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, completed two years of college or military service. This doesn’t mean the legislation is dead forever, but it is still a major blow to all the incredible student activists and immigration and access to education advocates who have been fighting so hard for it. I was deeply moved to read that Sen. Dick Durbin, who has taken the legislative lead on this for 10 years, told reporters, “I will never give up this fight.”

This incredibly emotional video from the Immigrant Youth Justice ...

By Courtney • 13 years ago

The latest in justice and the military

Yesterday, The House of Representatives voted to overturn the ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers serving in the U.S. military, passing legislation repealing the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The “standalone” bill passed 250 to 175 in a virtual party-line vote. It now advances to the Senate.

In other military-related news, the ACLU, the Service Women’s Action Network, and a few other organizations teamed up to file a lawsuit on Monday with the U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut against the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs for their failure to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests seeking government records documenting incidents of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military.

“The government’s ...

By Courtney • 13 years ago

Republicans block DADT repeal

Democrats were 3 votes short of the 60 they needed yesterday to prevent a filibuster and approve the Defense Appropriations bill, containing the provision ending DADT. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called it like it is, before calling out the vote: “It’s quite clear that they’re trying to run out the clock.”

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told reporters that he was “disappointed, but not surprised.” He also indicated that he wouldn’t move forward on any other military initiatives, like a new education plan, until DADT is sorted out: “I think it would be a serious mistake to start training and preparing before the law is changed because I think it will just confuse the troops,” he said. “What is ...