Pentagon Cultivates Culture of Violence Against Women (And Everyone Else, For That Matter)

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Recent allegations of sexual abuse by U.S. military personnel should make us wary of the culture of sexist violence that the Pentagon is fostering.

More than 500 U.S. servicewomen who have been or are stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan or other countries say they have been assaulted by fellow soldiers since 2003, according to the Miles Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps victims of violence associated with the military.

The Defense Department says that reports of sexual assaults involving members of the armed forces rose 40 percent in 2005, and 65 percent in the last two years.

Sexual harassment of female soldiers is often blatant, and harassment and assault often go hand in hand.

Going to war at minimum wage is tough enough. To be harassed and sometimes raped for doing it?