When Private LaVena Johnson, a 20-year-old Missouri native, died near Balad, Iraq in 2005, the official cause of death that the Army gave Johnson's family was suicide. The story didn't seem right to the young woman's family, and once her father saw his daughter's body, he knew it wasn't. The Army was forced by the Freedom of Information Act to release her autopsy information, and it was uncovered that at the time of death, Johnson "had a broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, burns from a corrosive chemical on her genitals, and a gunshot that seemed inconsistent with suicide." It has been suspected that chemicals were used to destroy DNA evidence after rape. As of now, the Army has agreed to "look into" her death.
Johnson's suspicious death is just one of many tragic tales involving women in the military and sexual assault. Yesterday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing yesterday on sexual assaults in the military and the way they are handled. Experts say that rape in the military is an epidemic — 29 percent of female veterans say they were raped during their time of service. In other words, women in the military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by an enemy, although the military underreports these crimes by more than half. Who will protect women like Johnson and countless others when the military won't even come clean about what's among its soldiers? [ABC]
Click here to sign Color of Change's petition to get Congress to investigate the cover-up of Johnson's suspected rape and murder.
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this makes me sick to my stomach.
This is really sad. And the fact that the Army tried to cover it up is even worse.
That is crazy. We are suppose to support the troops, signup, and all that BS when the ARMY doesnt even have the common sense to protect their own.
Thats horrible.
Sadly, I am not shocked by this. They do it because they can get away with it. It's also another reason why women should be keep seperate from men in the military. I'm sure this is not a problem for American service women alone. Any non American readers care to give their take.
Let us not forget, women are seen as a spoil of war.
Yeah, except the spoils are supposed to be from the enemy's side. I guess there's a shortage of female terrorists.
Normal people — soldiers included — don't rape, even when they think they can get away with it. Female military personnel shouldn't have to be segregated from their brothers in arms to be safe — officials should vet out (no pun intended) potential recruits more thoroughly to make sure that the military truly consists of the best. The costs in the form of morale depleting scandals at home and abroad may be more than the dubious benefit of an army that has criminals within its ranks.
@ daria: you said "the spoils are supposed to be from the enemy’s side. I guess there’s a shortage of female terrorists." are you saying that soldiers committing rape against "the enemy" is supposed to be ok? this already happens regularly, although the victims are not "female terrorists" but innocent women and children of color. the terrorists are the one's who invaded their country and are now committing rape against civilians as a routine part of occupation.
@ divergent diva: you said "Normal people — soldiers included — don’t rape, even when they think they can get away with it." you seem to forget that rape is normal, so normal in fact that date rape isn't even thought of as rape by many people. as for soldiers, they are trained to inflict violence, including dropping cluster bombs that indiscriminately destroy kill thousands of people and destroy entire city blocks. this is what "normal" soldiers are trained to do, so why is rape such a stretch for them?
A woman in the military is more likely to be sexually assaulted than killed in combat.
Support Our Troops… blindly
btw anyone watching Generation Kill?
@DivergentDana-maybe not normal people but soilders do it often.
good point KIM.