Anu Bhagwati argues for more women in the U.S. military to curb sexualized violence

In a recentl op-ed with the Washington Post, Anu reflects on some of the themes she also talked to us about:

 

She then asks "So why are we surprised that sexual[ized] violence is such a problem in the ranks?"
Read more here.

Fort Hood soldier, in charge of sexual assault prevention, charged with "abusive sexual contact"

With barely a week in between, another soldier assigned to an assault prevention program in a branch of the U.S. military has himself been charged...

Melissa Harris-Perry, on her show this past weekend, discussed the issue with (among others), Anu Bhagwati.

According to the AP (full story here): 

WASHINGTON — A soldier assigned to coordinate a sexual assault prevention program in Texas is under investigation for "abusive sexual contact" and other alleged misconduct and has been suspended from his duties, the Army announced Tuesday.
Just last week an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was himself arrested on charges of groping a woman in a parking lot.
The Army said a sergeant first class, whose name was not released, is accused of pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates. He is being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Command. No charges have been filed.
He had been assigned as an equal opportunity adviser and coordinator of a sexual harassment-assault prevention program at the Army's 3rd Corps headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas, when the allegation arose, the Army said.

Pentagon report finds increase in sexual assaults

A shocking new report by the Pentagon has found that 70 sexual assaults may be taking place within the U.S. military every day. The report estimates there were 26,000 instances of sexualized violence [my edit] committed in 2012, a jump of 37 percent since 2010. Most of the incidents were never reported. The findings were released two days after the head of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention unit, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, was arrested for sexual assault. We air highlights from Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on military sexual assault and speak with Anu Bhagwati, executive director and co-founder of Service Women’s Action Network. "The numbers are outrageous, and I think we’ve reached a tipping point," Bhagwati says. "The American public is furious."

Read on/ watch here.

Anu commenting on latest Air Force Scandal..

... on "All In" (with Chris Hayes) tonight:

See the whole clip here.

Response to Anu Bhagwati

Anu Bhagwati, executive director and co-founder of the Service Women’s Action Network, came to talk to our class before her evening lecture. I also had the opportunity to go out to dinner with her, Professor Wibben, and two fellow classmates. Anu’s visit was refreshing because she has a completely different take on women in the military than most other visitors we have had. She is pro-equality in the military, leading her to endorse policy such as equal standard fitness tests. I completely agree when Anu says that this patriarchy is preventing women from exceeding because they are held at a lower standard. Women in the military exist in this limbo where they cannot act too feminine or too masculine because they are ridiculed either way. There is no win. The pressure of this environment leads women to be ultra feminist or a misogynist, as Anu admitted to being at one point.

            Although Anu’s visit was refreshing, I found myself getting frustrated at times because her views were so pro-military and I cannot agree with this. I kept forgetting that she was still a willing participant and representation of the military. One comment that rather annoyed me was when she was explaining the job of female engagement teams. These women are not trained to have tea but rather to carry out a mission and determine when the next air strike should be. This completely shocked me because, again, I kept forgetting her positionality. It makes sense to think that this is a natural sentence to her, which it totally is, but I cannot get passed the thought that this method of attaining information violates the women at the other end. They are blatantly being used by the military; well I guess that is what is involved in war. So yeah, I guess my problem is not Anu but the existence of what she represents. 

Reflection on Anu B. visit

As I mentioned in class, the thing that struck me most about Anu is the fact she identifies as three seemingly contradictory things: academic, veteran, and activist. It's not uncommon that scholars are involved in activism and vice versa, but very rarely (in my experience) do military members associate with academia or the non-profit world. I think that this is because liberal academia and non-governmental organizations are often critical of the military. That said, I like how she maintained respect for the military but not without believing the military (and our government) is incapable of any wrongdoing. She demonstrated (I think) that you can be critical of the U.S. military but can still very much be a patriotic person.

Anu's Visit

I loved the Anu that came to class and had a conversation with our class. That Anu was open and more critical and seemed to stand firmly with out any hesitation for what she believed in--women's rights in the military. I am very critical of the military and usually judge those involved very harshly, but she helped me see a new perspective. That through women joining the military, it makes a statement for women's rights. The U.S. needs to take it one step at a time. For example, have equal training requirements for men and women. She made a good point when she said when you tell women that they only need to do 50 push-ups instead of the 100 that men do, that's all they will think they are able to do. Women have been striving to reach goals set by men for a long time, and if that is the standard then women will meet it. She was critical of her behavior along with other soldier's behaviors from the military environment.
I have met others like this as well. When I went on the Beyond Bridges Israel Palestine trip, our group met with members of the IDF who were also critical of their behavior and even  regretted some of their actions and what they one stood for. Although I think it's great that we can be critical after the event as happened, I wonder what good does that do? The actions have already happened and the words have already been spoken. There is only so much one can do. Have these reflections affected those in the military today? I can only hope that the work done to spread awareness will be enough or make a dent in all the inequalities occurring the military. It made me realize why I am so critical of the military. It's because it is one institution that has the ability to affect millions of other's lives, not just american lives.
When Anu gave the public presentation to all of USF, her attitude totally changed. She seemed very defensive of the military and had more pride in the institution that was part of the reason for women's inequalities. She barley touched on what it was that affected women in the military and more on female's achievements. Some things she said didn't sit right with me. For example, she talked about one of her heroes [Martha McSally] who worked to get the requirement for wearing a scarf in Saudi Arabia banned for female soldiers. I think this was just disrespectful because of cultural norms--no matter where you are. You are invading a country, invading women's privacy, destroying their lives and the least you can do is accept the cultural norms. The hardest thing is that she didn't believe that what the military was fighting for was corrupt. She was fighting for women's rights in American while at the same time taking away rights of women in Afghanistan. The irony is so blatant to me I don't understand how people miss it. It just emphasized the fact that America's "freedom" is all that its cracked up to be so to speak. We claim that these countries in African and the Middle East and South Asia are jealous of our freedoms and our democracy when the reality is I think we are just as "uncivilized," we just know how and have the resources to cover it up a lot better.

~Sarah

Cynthia Enloe's Visit

Cynthia Enloe is the most adorable speaker I think we've ever had at the Davies forum AND for my entire college career! She was so pleasant and seemed genuinely interested in our class; I didn't feel intimidated by her presence, but definitely felt her intelligence and knowledge from both her work and our discussion. I think she might be one of my favorite speakers to date!

Enloe's book, Nimo's War, Emma's War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War talked about the effects of war also including gendered dimensions in marriage, motherhood, women's sexuality, women's access to education and work. Her stories about the different perspectives and circumstances of women - from Nimo and her beauty salon to Charlene, the mother of a US serviceman, were eye-opening and informative about the different facets of the Iraq War. Like with Anu Bhagwati, I only had a minimal understanding of the Iraq War and its effects on women; I've learned about the Iraq War in my US Foreign Policy class, but we focused more on the systematic result of United States' approach.

Enloe's visit to our class, however, focused a little less on her book, but more on the concepts of writing and the reasons why she wrote the book, as well as the process. It was interesting to learn about her politics of choosing a title, as well as the way she retrieved information in order to write the perspectives of these women. I appreciated her insight into writing, as well as her explanation of her experiences in academia. I also loved how she divulged in how she got into feminist research in the first place - it was very humbling of her to admit that the chaos and unease of doing difficult research was common for anyone, even the experts themselves.

Human Rights Film Festival

“The Invisible War”

During the Human Rights Film Festival I attended the documentary The Invisible War written and directed by Kirby Dick. After Anu Bhagwati’s visit to our class, and hearing great reviews about the documentary I decided to watch the film. The documentary highlights the controversy surrounding sexual assault within the United States military. I wasn’t able to attend the discussion following the film, however, I was extremely moved by the film’s content. I was shocked by the overall statistics of rape within the military, the amount of cases that go “unreported” and unresolved, and the stories of women who were forced to experience physical and mental abuse, sometimes even from commanders. I was shocked by the irony of the situation. Here, were women [and men] willing to fight and protect our country, however, they received no protection for themselves.
How could such an “admirable” institution have high levels of corruption and dishonesty?  Levels so high that statistics revealed in the documentary state 3,230 women reported assault during the last fiscal year in 2009, and 80% of sexual assault victims do not report. At the time of the documentary they estimated that 16,150 women were sexual assaulted in the military. Statistics continue to rise, and cases continue to go unreported. Although I had already had knowledge of sexual assault within the military from previous readings and Anu’s visit, there was absolutely nothing like seeing the personal detailed stories of the women and male survivors. The stories were heartbreaking. I watched as the lives of women and men were destroyed by the effects of the sexual assault and abuse they experienced while serving in the military.
The movie stated that “40 percent of female homeless veterans have been raped,” and “Women who have been raped in the military have a PTSD rate higher than men who’ve been in combat”. We have all heard the stories of men who experience post traumatic stress disorder after combat, however, I was extremely shocked to hear that statistics prove women who have been raped in the military have an even higher PTSD rate. After I watched the movie I thought about our idea for a rape campaign, simply stating: “DON’T RAPE”. I thought of the rape victim in the film who said “if a woman makes a rape case there always people asking questions, what was she doing there, what was she wearing? Whether or not she had a boyfriend”. I wondered what type of effect our slogan could have. How instead of victim blaming we can teach ways to prevent rape. 

Anu Bhagwati Visit

Anu Bhagwati’s visit to our class was very interesting. Although I had a little knowledge about sexual harassment in the military, I was still extremely shocked to hear some of the stories. Her visit to our class made me decide to attend The Invisible War screening during the Human Rights Film Festival. It was so interesting to hear of her own personal experience in the military. How men and women were treated separately, even down to physical appearance i.e. through uniform choices and haircuts, as well as what women were forced to endure simply for being a woman. I found it quite interesting when she commented that sometimes the judgement from other women exceeded the judgement from male counterparts. I was shocked to hear of the way rape and sexual harassment cases were handled in the military, and how women were forced to go to their commander (who sometimes was the offender). I loved when someone mentioned our “Don’t Rape” campaign previously discussed in our class, and she agreed and said that she has herself thought of how significant it would be to teach the consequences of rape, instead of the prevention. Although, we had already heard the statement during class, I was so disturbed to hear that the statistics of rape in the military was equivalent to the statistics of rape on college campuses!  

Anu's Visit & Melissa Herbert

I know that people had expressed concerns that Anu held a controversial position, in that she was trying to be too many things at one time.

After this was brought up I see the dilemma that she faces but I did not really think that this was a problem given her mission with SWAN.

My friends in the military are weird. They are good people but they military has made them very loyal to that institution and even questioning its very obvious flaws will bring any conversation with them to an uncomfortable end. In this respect I admire Anu for at least trying to strike a balance in working towards change in an institution that has trained people to be loyal to it with an unquestioning and blind faith. I think that takes guts. I think it is also important that she is able to maintain a relationship and understanding of the way that things work now. That connection, however controversial given her present work, I think is helpful in the work that she is doing. I'm really glad there are networks like SWAN to help traumatized service women when no one else will.

And I have to add that I had no idea rape in the military was such as prevalent issue. I have heard many stories of infidelity (from both men and women) while they were serving in the military but neither gender mentioned anything about rape. Many, like Anu, mentioned solidarity and a great amount of trust and care. To me, despite that I am not really a big fan of the military, I always felt like it was a noble institution that protected its own and maintained high moral values....well you learn something new everyday. I don't really know what to say about it...it's awful, disgusting, horrifying...they might as well throw their service men and women in the most awful federal prison if they are going to treat their victims of rape like that...

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In relation to our reading about the military, specifically, Camouflage Isn't Only for Combat, something that stuck out to me in particular is put best by Herbert (1998) when explaining another controversy that Anu pointed out within the military: "One of the mechanisms by which society enforces these rules is to suggest that when one's "gender" does not correspond with one's "sex," the individual must be homosexual" (p. 59). Anu brought to our attention that women who were feminine within the military were not viewed as equal and those that were masculine were viewed as homosexuals. Societal gender norms that women are associated with, either homosexual or heterosexual, are impossible to reconcile with the nature of the military. Either way, women are undesirable or unsuitable for uniform.

Although Don't Ask Don't Tell has been repealed Anu mentioned that it was used to eliminate women, particularly African American, lesbian, women from the Army. Herbert (1998) mentions how accusations of homosexuality are used to either ostracize women, particularly each other. As Anu stated, the institution is inherently misogynistic and women become misogynists in the institutions as well, again leading to another conflicting positions, a woman hating woman... 

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Reference

Herbert, M.S. (1998). Camouflage isn't only for combat: gender, sexuality and women in the military. New York: New York University Press.

Anu Bhagwati's Visit

Having Anu Bhagwati visit our class was a very enlightening experience. I have little to no knowledge of the military, with only a superficial and basic understanding of the military system. I knew that most servicemen had to endure vicious top officers and grueling physical exams in order to become one of the nation's defenders - but that was the extent of my knowledge.

Before she came into visit, we were required to read three of Bhagwati's articles, all of which focused on female soldiers in the military. Her first article, "Representing Women Soldiers in the Media" focused on empowering female officers rather than depicting them as what she terms "America's victims." Bhagwati highlights how media sources often describe women as innocent victims in the war instead of giving the same reportage as male officers. She continues this idea of irresponsible media representation in "The Unheard Victims of the 'Invisible War'" in which she draws attention to military rape being framed as solely a women's issue - namely white women's issue, in the way the movie depicted white women as the primary victims of rape. Her third article, "Women's Movement and For Whom" talks about her entry into the women's movement and writes about the importance of advocating for the mistreatment of women in the service.

Her visit to our class recounted what she wrote about in "Women's Movement and For Whom" - she talked mostly about her experience working as Executive Director of SWAN, as well as her first-hand experience in the military: the oppressive forces of male counterparts, the double-standards in from the physical exams right down to the kinds of uniforms they used, the way rape cases were handled, etc. The most striking thing of our discussion was about rape - equating the prevalence of rape on American college campuses to the prevalence of rape in the military system was astounding. Hearing that such an esteemed institution of our nation perpetrated and covered these kinds of crimes, not only on our soil but also in other countries, is truly eye-opening and maddening!

Anu Bhagwati

I was particularly looking forward to Anu’s visit, as her expertise related directly to my chosen topic for our research project. We had been discussing the problems surrounding the construction of a single story in class and her public talk opened up new perspectives to many ideas that I had not considered before. She reiterated the importance of recognizing the problems associated with only considering a single experience.

I remember hearing about Jessica Lynch when I was growing up. In my mind, she always served as the quintessential representation of a woman in the military. I think because I was exposed to the ongoing media onslaught at such a young age, my preconceived and deeply rooted assumptions about what a woman in the military looked and acted like were completed affected. Not only was Jessica a young, white woman but also the circumstances surrounding her ordeal fed into the concept of a ‘damsel’ needing rescuing. I cannot remember in my childhood any other female figure in the U.S. military being given so much attention and recognition. Thus, I had mentally constructed the idea of a woman in the military, being white and needing men to come rescue her from foreign captors.

I was shocked to learn that a fellow service woman had died in the firefight that resulted in Jessica’s capture as a Prisoner of War. Of all the stories surrounding Jessica Lynch’s experiences, I had never heard about Lori Piestewa, a Native American woman, who died in the Iraq invasion. This shows how when an experience does not fit the mainstream constructed single story, it is marginalized and discounted. 

I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend both Anu’s class talk and public presentation. Her candid reflections and personal stories concerning her military service serve to illuminate many different aspects we have been discussing in class, including many overly sexist policies of the U.S. military. The passion that Anu exemplified for her activism served as an example everyone in the class could learn from. 

--Erika

Anu Bhagwati

I feel very conflicted about Anu Bhagwati's talk. I found myself agreeing with a lot of what she said in class and in her talk, and I really admire everything that she does with SWAN. But a lot of her more militarized and pro-military opinions are puzzling to me. In her talk, when she identified her hero as a woman [Martha McSally] who fought against U.S. servicewomen having to wear a veil while on duty in Saudi Arabia, I couldn't understand why that woman, out of all the strong women in the military fighting for women's rights, would be her hero. What really bothered me, however, was when Bhagwati was casually talking about female marines going into Iraqi women's homes and gaining their trust in order to determine the "appropriate" time and place for an airstrike.

The idea that an airstrike would ever be appropriate rubs me the wrong way, and the casual way she discussed exploiting these Iraqi women made me very angry. I'm conflicted about my anger because I think that it's great to have people with different opinions visit our class. Our class, like most at USF tends to be very liberal and pacifist. So I think it's good to present the other side of the conversation. But the militarism and dehumanization of Iraqi women just did not sit well with me.

The Faces of Activism - Reflection on our visit from Anu Bhagwati - Allie Khori

         As an artist, the issue of funding, and thus ultimate artistic control, is one of great personal importance.  Should I accept funds from corporate sponsors even though I don’t agree with their mission or policies?  Or should I allow my theatre to close due to bankruptcy in order to stay true to my principles?  This is not an exaggerated situation, it happened to the San Francisco Mime Troupe less than five years ago. 

            This same issue is one that is faced by politicians and activists all over the world.  How much will one bend one’s principles in order to get the support (financial or otherwise) one needs to accomplish one’s goals?  This quandary is highlighted when it is a marginalized population attempting to make change, because that group already faces so much pressure to capitulate to the dominant group’s principles. 

Our class noticed that our guest speaker, Anu Bhagwati, seemed to be grappling with this precise quandary.  When she spoke to our class she was very open about her qualms with the Iraq war, and the difficulties service members face.  Yet when she gave her public talk she was much more one-sided and pro-military. 

While I understand how unsettling it can be to see someone act so differently from one situation to the next, I also understand that navigating our current American legal system is an incredibly difficult process that requires many different tactics and a great deal of flexibility.  And as Anu says in her blog posting entitled “Representing Women Soldiers in the Media: Stop Exploiting, Start Empowering” (March 7, 2013), she has a personal commitment to trying to heal veterans trauma.  That is her goal, first and foremost, and she is prepared to do a lot in order to achieve it. 

This issue of flexibility vs. capitulation is one that I expect to face many times in my career as an artist, and I believe that keeping an open, self-reflective, inner dialogue based on the tenets of feminist curiosity will help me navigate it.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/regardingwar/conversations/women-and-war/representing-women-soldiers-in-the-media-stop-exploiting-start-empowering.php

Human Rights Film Festival: The Invisible War

After Anu Bhagwati visited our class, I admit to taking the cliche route and decided to watch The Invisible War. Prior to taking this seminar, I only heard about the movie from one of my Media Studies classes, but hadn't even thought twice about watching it - now I regret it! Hearing Bhagwati's encounters with such an inherently patriarchal power - from the double-standards between men and women's fitness exams, uniforms, available work positions, all the way to the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military - were astounding. Maybe it's because I maintained such a shallow and superficial understanding of the system (that these were men and women willing to serve the country in combat, put through intense and identity-breaking training), but it was almost shocking to hear so many stories of corruption result from what is usually regarded as an esteemed national institution.

One of the most daunting pieces of information Bhagwati shared with us was that the ratio of rape within U.S. college campuses and rape within the U.S. military were strikingly similar. This fact alone gave me something to relate to, something that hit close to home since I was already aware that sexual assault was something prevalent amongst my peers. The Invisible War furthered this awareness with a slew of scandalous statistics - that 20 percent of women in the military have reported sexual assault, the estimate that 80 percent of such assaults aren't even reported and affect both women and men as well. Even worse is that women are often penalized for alleging these sexual assaults, and though they are required to report these attacks, the perpetrators still go unpunished. Though these were issues that Bhagwati noted in class, it was heartbreaking to watch the movie and actually see the victims and hear their stories! With a face and a voice to attribute to these stories made it more difficult to fathom that these things go on within such a blindly-respected institution. Since hearing Bhagwati's stories, watching The Invisible War and taking this class in general, I've just felt angry - but a good kind of angry, that makes me feel both informed and gives me the drive to do something to help.

"The Invisible War" and "In Shopian"

          I attended both "The Invisible War" and "In Shopian" which were screened in the Human Rights Film Festival. 

         "In Shopian" was about the Kashmir area that is legally part of India, but there have been attacks against the Kashmir people because they have protested against the Indian government and seek independence. The specific case that the film focused on was a wife and a sister that were raped by the Indian military, killed and left in a nearby river, and the police investigation was covered up to protect the Indian government. The husband and brother of the women has become an advocate of human rights to prevent further incidents. 

         I had heard about the Kashmir conflict in a politics class, but never went into any specifics. The people there basically have no government to protect them and they can't constitute their own. They are in limbo and their efforts have proved futile. They protest by word and by actions. When the conflict gets violent, the people and the police throw rocks at each other. It was notes that the policemen thought of the fights as a game of cricket, a plaything when they have the guns. I can see the perspective from India, where they don’t want to lose territory, but if they wish to keep peace with the Kashmir people, they should treat them as citizens, equal to other Indian counterparts.
         The invisible war related to what Anu had come to talk to us in class. Violence in the military affects everyone. There were many examples where women were raped and their perpetrators were not charged with criminal charges. Most of the things we covered in class, but it really hit me when I connected the faces of these women with their stories and seeing how they reacted to the government. One thing that struck me was the fact that, legally, the military has to do something when cases are presented, but they don’t in order to protect the “divine quality” of the establishment. Nothing is perfect and the military is not even close. Also, the Veterans Department is so inefficient and inconsiderate with women’s cases that they spend unnecessary money on useless medical tests and take more than 14 months in one case.