Sexual assault in the military
...rganizational climate (www.feminist.org). Although some suggest that sexual harassment, particularly in more severe situations, may be influenced by individual differences in the tendency to harass, and that it is the organizational context that plays the largest role in determining the occurrence and frequency of sexual harassment. I believe sexual harassment in organizations is the result of two factors. One is organizational climate and the other is what I call job gender situation. Organizational climate consists of including employee perceptions of an organization’s execution of policies and procedures related to sexual harassment, and the provision of resources for harassment victims. This organizational representation of sexual harassment also proposes that sexual assault will have a profound negative affect job, psychological, and health related outcomes. Research posted at the American Psychological Associations online publication tends to find that organizational climates more tolerant of sexual harassment as well as predominantly male operated workgroups predict sexual harassment, which, in turn, results in increased levels of job dissatisfaction, psychological distress, and poor health (http://www.apa.org/divisions/div19/homepage). Although increasing amounts of research have focused on determining the incidence and outcomes of sexual harassment, other forms of sexual violence occurring within the military organization have received little attention. Research done by William Petrocelli and Barbara Repa, (Petrocelli & Repa 1992) has found that lifetime prevalence rates of sexual assault among women range from 14-25%, but few studies provide estimates of sexual assault occurring the military. Furthermore, given the rarity and limitations of this information, little is known about either the specific past history or outcomes of sexual assault that occurs within the armed forces as a whole. A small number of studies exist that provide estimates of the incidence of sexual assault occurring within the military context. Several of these studies have used information attained from medical care. A study conducted by the Defense Manpower Data Center (Sexual Harassment Survey, 1995) reported that among approximately 11,000 enlisted women serving in the U.S. Navy, 7% reported an experience of actual or attempted rape or sexual assault during the 1-year survey period. Similarly, a study performed by the U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. (Defense Manpower Data Center, Sexual Harassment: Active Component Survey 2002) surveyed over 20,000 women serving in the U.S. military and found that 6% of women reported an experience of either completed or attempted sexual assault during military service over a period of 18 months. Additionally, the same study found that of 160 women returning from service in the Persian Gulf War, 9% reported a sexual experience that was unwanted and involved use or threat of force during their deployment. Studies of women veterans seeking treatment at Veterans Administration hospitals have yielded the highest, and probably the most accurate, estimates of sexual assault occurring in the military. Research completed by the Veterans’ Administration Office of Internal Affairs (Defense Manpower Data Center 2003) surveyed approximately 3000 women receiving inpatient and outpatient treatment at the Dallas, Texas VA hospital and found that 15% (25% of those under the age of 50 and 8% of those age 50 and above) reported experiencing attempted or completed rape while in the military. Additionally, a similar investigation found that 27% of approximately 1400 women seeking services at a Florida VA hospital reported having experienced rape while serving on active military duty. Most importantly, nationwide studies using data from the VA Women’s Sexual Counseling Clinic, indicated reports that of 16,632 women veterans receiving VA therapy, 23% indicated “an experience where someone used force or the threat of force to have sexual relations with you against your will while you were in the military” (Defense Manpower Data Center 2003). All of the studies by the VA administration above used the same form of investigative tools to acquire the information. This was derived from the Department of Defense Sexual Battery Survey (Form 1169 B). In order to clarify the data, I will give a brief overview of the process. The questionnaire consists of twenty-one behavioral items that assess the unwanted sex-related experiences of the respondents in the military (Sexual Harassment Survey, 1995). It assesses four general categories of sexually harassing behaviors (sexist hostility, sexual hostility, unwanted sexual interest, and sexual intimidation). It also includes two items assessing attempted and completed sexual assault. These items ask respondents whether anyone had “attempted to have sex with you without your consent or against your will, but was unsuccessful” or “had sex with you without your consent or against your will.” The questionnaire also provides scores on a four-item subscale labeled “sexist hostility”. Sexist hostility includes behaviors such as offensive sexist remarks, distributing sexist or suggestive materials such as pornography, and differential, negative treatment based on sex. From this, combining items representing the areas of service members’ perceptions related to sexual harassment created a composite measure of organizational climate. In summary, these studies indicate that approximately 5-9% of military women experience sexual assault during their service and that such experiences are particularly common among women veterans seeking treatment at VA hospitals. Thus, the occurrence of sexual assault in the military appears not only to be an issue of military and social concern, but an occurrence of particular relevance to employees’ health and well-being. Additionally, the prevalence of sexual assault among women seeking treatment has implications for military health care providers. Given this information, what do the results tell us about sexual abuse in today’s armed forces? The goal of my research was to examine the sparse informational history of sexual assault occurring within the armed forces and to determine whether these differed from those that have been found for sexual harassment in other areas. In addressing this issue, I found two major causes that I feel contribute to sexual assault in the military environment. First, the previous circumstances that have been found to predict sexual harassment also predict sexual assault. Research has found that organizational conditions are the most powerful predictors of sexual assault. In particular, an organization’s climate or degree of tolerance of sexual harassment as well as the job-gender situation of the work environment largely determines the prevalence of sexual harassment in any particular organization. The findings of my research have a number of academic and practical implications. With respect to general theory, the results indicate that there are important similarities between sexual assault occurring in the military versus the mainstream. In particular, although characteristics of the military organization are important predictors of sexual assault, they are not direct predictors of this phenomenon. Instead, the effects of organizational characteristics on workplace sexual assault are almost completely mediated by women’s experiences of sexist hostility. This is perhaps due to the fact that most of these sexual assaults, although perpetrated by military personnel on military installations, do not occur in the vi...