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Help Sexually Assaulted Women in the Military Find Justice

Target: The Next U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Sponsored by: Care2

Women in the military are silently struggling. In 2007, there were 2,688 reported sexual assaults in the military, with nearly half being rape.

Shockingly, most are forced to pay for their own rape kit (victims' files containing DNA samples, interviews, photographs of injuries and other evidence). TRICARE, the U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System, will only pay for rape kits if the victim is seen in a military or VA facility. However, an estimated 80 percent of cases go unreported, with victims choosing to go off-base to protect their anonymity or careers.

Women in the military need protection. They are twice as likely to be raped as their civilian counterparts, and are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire.

In the upcoming administration, the appointed Secretary of Veterans Affairs needs to be aware of the additional vulnerability female soldiers face, and the lack of support they receive. Urge the new Secretary to reform TRICARE so that rape kits are covered, regardless of where victims choose to go for an examination.

deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 20,000
 
9,824
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Dear Secretary of Veteran Affairs:

Women in the military are silently struggling. In 2007, there were 2,688 reported sexual assaults in the military, with nearly half being cases of rape. Only eight percent of those cases were referred to courts martial, and almost half were dismissed without investigation.

What is even more outrageous is that most are forced to pay for their own rape kit. TRICARE, the U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System, will only pay for rape kits if the victim is seen in a military or VA facility. However, an estimated 80 percent of cases go unreported, with victims choosing to go off-base to protect their anonymity or careers.

[Your comments here]

I urge you to take into consideration the additional vulnerability that women in the military face, and the lack of support they receive. TRICARE needs to cover rape kits, regardless of where the victims choose to be examined.

Sincerely,
[Your name here]
We signed the “Help Sexually Assaulted Women in the Military Find Justice” petition!
# 9,828:
10:12 pm PDT, Jul 4, Donna Colby, Kansas
# 9,827:
10:38 am PDT, Jun 30, Barry Spielvogel, New York
# 9,826:
8:58 am PDT, Jun 29, Jeanne Kelly, California
# 9,825:
10:19 am PDT, Jun 28, Name not displayed, Illinois
# 9,824:
5:23 pm PDT, Jun 27, Songbird Gone Bergstrom, North Carolina
# 9,823:
3:33 pm PDT, Jun 27, Edita Hajdar, Minnesota
# 9,822:
6:14 am PDT, Jun 27, Name not displayed, Florida
# 9,821:
6:35 pm PDT, Jun 26, Keith Wilkinson, Colorado
# 9,820:
5:51 pm PDT, Jun 25, Robb Tucker, Minnesota
# 9,819:
5:23 pm PDT, Jun 25, Jason Schmidt, Missouri
# 9,818:
10:11 am PDT, Jun 25, Lillian Henry, Colorado
# 9,817:
10:06 am PDT, Jun 25, Jessica Garofalo, New York
# 9,816:
9:29 am PDT, Jun 25, Joy Fowler, Michigan
# 9,815:
5:49 am PDT, Jun 25, David N Moore, Connecticut
# 9,814:
5:31 am PDT, Jun 25, Janet Amber, Pennsylvania
# 9,813:
3:34 am PDT, Jun 25, Karen Campbell, California
# 9,812:
9:45 pm PDT, Jun 24, Pam Boland, Georgia
# 9,811:
8:21 pm PDT, Jun 24, Nancy Lanning, California
# 9,810:
11:44 am PDT, Jun 24, William Hammond, New Mexico
# 9,809:
2:48 pm PDT, Jun 23, Daile O'Connor, New Jersey
# 9,808:
8:13 pm PDT, Jun 22, Fran Cannon, California
# 9,807:
8:04 am PDT, Jun 22, Denise Alvera, Illinois
# 9,806:
9:01 pm PDT, Jun 21, Sarah Cole, Arkansas
# 9,805:
7:26 pm PDT, Jun 21, Robert Turner III, Texas
# 9,804:
12:16 pm PDT, Jun 21, Jessie Bourke, Arizona
# 9,803:
4:47 am PDT, Jun 21, David and Debra, Texas
# 9,802:
1:57 pm PDT, Jun 19, Catharine Lund, Maine
# 9,801:
11:11 am PDT, Jun 17, Stormoak Lonewind, Massachusetts
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