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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: 11-12-2009
goal: 20,000
 
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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!
# 10,105:
11:59 pm PST, Nov 7, Miguel Dias, New York
# 10,104:
11:42 pm PST, Nov 7, FREYA HALL, Florida
# 10,103:
3:46 pm PST, Nov 6, Name not displayed, Colorado
# 10,102:
2:17 pm PST, Nov 6, Lisa Mann, United Kingdom
# 10,101:
12:49 pm PST, Nov 6, Chantal Dothey, Ohio
# 10,100:
8:38 am PST, Nov 6, Kyle S, New Jersey
# 10,086:
4:26 pm PST, Nov 4, Marissa Chiappetta, Florida
# 10,085:
3:54 pm PST, Nov 4, Chris McKay, Wisconsin
# 10,084:
3:53 pm PST, Nov 4, Tattiana Delfino, Florida
# 10,082:
11:25 am PST, Nov 4, Aaron Stone, Arizona
# 10,081:
11:33 am PST, Nov 3, Bette Nelson, Washington
# 10,080:
9:26 am PST, Nov 3, Madiha Hussaini, Illinois
# 10,079:
7:35 am PST, Nov 2, Michael Pacholski, Ohio
To make the women pay for for the rape kit is put the oneness on women. It adds insult to injury; discourages reporting and the dread eight percent with half not investigated is appalling indictment of military justice.
# 10,078:
9:29 pm PST, Nov 1, Elizabeth O'Connor, Hawaii
# 10,077:
7:10 pm PDT, Oct 31, Elaine Dixon, Florida
# 10,076:
11:12 am PDT, Oct 31, Lois Evron, New York
# 10,075:
10:47 am PDT, Oct 31, David Lyle, Texas
# 10,074:
11:31 am PDT, Oct 30, Nancy Marshall, Georgia
# 10,073:
5:44 am PDT, Oct 30, Name not displayed, Colorado
# 10,072:
4:34 am PDT, Oct 30, Mike Wise, Tennessee
# 10,071:
10:55 pm PDT, Oct 28, Tamila Foster-Carter, Kansas
# 10,070:
6:51 pm PDT, Oct 27, Emily Weibel, Minnesota
This is really awful. When will people really understand what goes on in this world? Women get it unfairly in the military...STOP IT NOW!
# 10,069:
2:05 pm PDT, Oct 27, Christine Holbrook, Indiana
# 10,068:
1:59 pm PDT, Oct 27, Leslie Blanchard, Texas
# 10,066:
12:50 pm PDT, Oct 25, Name not displayed, New York
# 10,065:
11:42 am PDT, Oct 25, John Cobey, Virginia
There is something horribly wrong with the institutional culture of the military when women who put their lives on the line for their country are being raped at twice the rate of civilian women. At a time when we need all the soldiers we can get, this shameful situation brings dishonor to our entire armed forces. Of course TRICARE should cover rape kits, but beyond that the military needs to take action to reform an institutional culture that fosters violence against women. It is reprehensible that the traditionally male hierarchy of the military is covering for men who are rapists. I could understand if it were other rapists doing so, but I cannot understand men of honor condoning this situation.
# 10,064:
11:08 pm PDT, Oct 24, Roger Panning, Ohio
This is an outrage. As a Vietnam Veteran, it has been my experience that if a hyped up male soldier can molest one of his own he is more likely to continue doing it with the indiginous women in the country we are trying to get to adopt our way of life, constituition, freedoms and rule of law.
# 10,063:
12:11 pm PDT, Oct 24, Gwenn Meltzer, Pennsylvania
__ Humanitarianism First..
# 10,062:
11:31 am PDT, Oct 22, Michael Gregory, New Mexico
# 10,061:
6:43 pm PDT, Oct 21, Caro Liu, Pennsylvania
# 10,060:
4:22 pm PDT, Oct 20, Tristan Lestat, Alabama
# 10,059:
9:50 pm PDT, Oct 16, Name not displayed, Maine
# 10,058:
10:25 am PDT, Oct 16, Melanie Kirdasi, North Carolina
# 10,057:
3:05 pm PDT, Oct 15, Alejandro M Jaume, Florida
# 10,056:
4:54 pm PDT, Oct 14, Sania Parekh, Texas
# 10,055:
1:30 pm PDT, Oct 13, Pam DeLitta, Texas
# 10,054:
5:02 am PDT, Oct 13, Carole Hagen, Oregon
# 10,053:
2:22 am PDT, Oct 13, Shannon Maynard, Oregon
# 10,052:
11:36 pm PDT, Oct 12, Carol Bostick, California
# 10,051:
8:46 pm PDT, Oct 12, Maureen Wheeler, Maryland
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