Abstract
Women’s ability to participate fully in all aspects of US military service has, Amy Gaudion recounts, received a boost with the December 2015 commitment by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter to ending combat exclusion. All combat jobs are now open to women without exception. Yet, running alongside the expansion of all levels and fields of service to women is the continuing problem of sexual violence in US military culture. Both aspects are covered by Gaudion, observing that contrary to some contentions, in the words of Army Sergeant Kayla Williams ‘the combat exclusion actually exacerbates gender tensions and problems’ Noting that women have served during wars and other military conflicts since the American Revolution, Gaudion examines structural and cultural challenges facing US military women, explaining why the current climate may be ripe for significant and substantive change. She outlines and analyses resistance to and obstacles facing women in the military, observing that combat has been a focus, with historical objections, effects on women’s career paths, issues of military justice and access to civilian courts. A culture of ‘institutional misogyny’, retaliation and military careerism lie at the heart. However, Gaudion highlights hope for significant and substantive change, including the ‘aging out’ of ‘the good ole boys’; changes in military warfare; and implications of budget cuts as well as the positive consequences of 2011 removal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ doctrine banning openly gay military service. Changes in sexual assault reporting have also improved women’s place in the military, with the gap narrowing between sexual assault prevalence and its reporting. Significant steps have been and are being taken, says Gaudion, to make prevention a target, to measure and address retaliation and to improve victim/survivor assistance and advocacy.
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Notes
- 1.
Once a physical was required to enlist, women could no longer pretend to serve as men: NCVAS (2011, pp. 1–5).
- 2.
The US Congress passed legislation limiting convening authorities’ discretion in sexual assault cases which ‘substantially reduced [the] convening authorities’ formerly unlimited discretion to grant clemency to Service members convicted of crimes under the UCMJ’ (Report 2014, p. 6).
- 3.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand put forward draft bills for a Military Justice Reform Act and Military Justice Improvement Act.
- 4.
Military recognises sexual assault ‘imposes significant costs’, including ‘short-term medical care, long-term and short-term mental health services, lost productivity, and pain and suffering’ so as to ‘impair mission readiness as a whole’ (US Commission on Civil Rights 2013, p. 23). See also Department of Defense SAPRO|ODMEO (2015, p. 1).
- 5.
Section 1631 Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 (Public Law 111–383).
- 6.
Currently, the Senate Armed Services Committee includes Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kristen E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI). Senator Fischer serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, and Senator Ayotte as chair of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.
- 7.
Currently, the House Armed Services committee includes Loretta Sanchez, Susan A. Davis, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Niki Tsongas, Jackie Spech, Tammy Duckworth, Vicky Hartzler, Gwen Graham, Jackie Walorski, Elise Stefanik, Martha McSally, and Tulsi Gabbard. Representative Hartzler serves as chair of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee.
- 8.
The 28 sexual harassment complaints (11 formal, 17 informal). The US Military Academy received 7 formal complaints, the US Naval Academy 13 informal complaints and the US Air Force Academy 4 formal and 4 informal complaints (Department of Defense SAPRO|ODMEO 2015, Executive Summary 6).
- 9.
The 91 reports received by the three Academies included 54 Unrestricted Reports and 37 Restricted Reports. Eight reports of sexual assault were for incidents prior to military service. The US Military Academy received 17 reports (15 Unrestricted and 2 Restricted Reports), the US Naval Academy received 25 reports (12 Unrestricted and 13 Restricted Reports) and the US Air Force Academy received 49 reports (27 Unrestricted and 22 Restricted Reports). The Academies’ detailed reporting data from academic programme year 2014–2015 and an analysis of these data appear in Appendices D and E of this report. The latest date for sexual assault reports is from 2013 to 2014, new data being collected in Spring 2016 (Department of Defense SAPRO|ODMEO 2015).
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Gaudion, A. (2016). Defending Your Country…and Gender—Legal Challenges and Opportunities Confronting Women in the Military. In: Scutt, J. (eds) Women, Law and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44938-8_10
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