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.

Topless in NYC

According to law, it is legal for a woman to be topless in New York. Because of this, activist Moira Johnston is taking it upon herself to end the taboo around breasts and the female body. Is her form of awareness a good way to go about this or is it indecent? Is she doing this for petty attention? Is this a good way to de-sexualize breasts? What do you guys think?
Watch the video below:
http://blip.tv/btrpulse/moira-johnston-topless-in-ny-btr-pulse-ep80-6198544

Japanese politician calls wartime sex slaves 'necessary'

and no.... this is not an onion article....

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/14/world/asia/japan-hashimoto-comfort-women/

From the domestic to the international ... and back:

As the semester draws to a close, let us once again consider domestic politics & domestic violence. Earlier in the semester, we read Ann Jones'  "Why doesn't she leave?" (in: Next Time She'll Be Dead. Boston: Beacon Press. 1994), and today, this:

Thinking back to her piece - and her visit in February - what do you make of this latest victim blaming in the U.S. mainstream media? Please post entries with your thoughts - drawing on Ann Jones' work or anything else we've read!

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.

Future of Feminist Security Studies

Although we discussed many different approaches to the future of feminist security studies, one particular quote from Carol Cohn's article really stuck out to me because of how it related to our recent class discussions and because it, in my opinion, really represented the future of feminist security studies. When I read the final words of Cohn's article "Feminist Security Studies’: Toward a Reflexive Practice," her quote "...it is also likely true that no one is more likely to push a change in agenda than the organized women who live in the shadows of those elite men's decisions" (2011, p.585) made me think of one of our class discussions. I connected the term "organized women" to the organized and masculinized nature of the military.  

The quote seems to make a point that the future of feminist security studies rests in the hands of women who are often directly or closely related to a masculinized society, where they are often in the shadows and discredited (sectors like the military). And in a way I believe this opinion. Although I am not saying that only women who have these experiences will be the ones who are at the forefront of the feminist security studies, I believe that those who are will play a vital and important role. 

One of the main reasons I believe this is because of one of her earlier quotes, where she says that "...this involved asking questions such as how and why the masculinist institutions at the heart...if we study men in these institutions as men, then what can we learn? (Cohn, 2011, p. 585). She stresses the importance of studying men and masculinity as a way to progress and learn more about feminist security studies. Those who are in environments where masculinity and the masculinized society are prevalent are able to take vital experiences in order to learn more about the culture. For example, how and why these masculine institutions function the way they do, how they define masculinity and where this notion of "power" comes from. For me, this is where the future of feminist security studies lies.  

Cohn, Carol (2011) “‘Feminist Security Studies’: Toward a Reflexive Practice” Politics & Gender 7 (4): pp. 581-586.

Anu commenting on latest Air Force Scandal..

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

See the whole clip here.