I Do NOT Understand Why Women Would Want To Join The US Military

I am a veteran of the USAF. I was in for four years. It was four years of institutionally rationalized coarseness--sexual, moral, and behavioral. When I was in, there were far fewer women enlisted than today. With increased numbers of female enlistees, there has grown up a much greater occasion for sexual abuse. Outnumbered, surrounded by a culture in which rape, in some contexts, is an acceptable form of aggression, and embedded in a culture of rigidly patriarchal hierarchy, the deck is stacked against them.

The stories of abuse are heart-breaking. Democracy Now yesterday did a deep analysis, with a French film-maker who has followed the cases of several such women for a documentary called "Rape In The Ranks: The Enemy Within."

As with suicides, the rate of sexual assaults within the US military now exceeds that of the general population. A Pentagon report earlier this year found one in three female service members are sexually assaulted at least once during their enlistment. Sixty-three percent of nearly 3,000 cases reported last year were rapes or aggravated assaults. Rape in the Ranks: The Enemy Within is a documentary that focuses on the cases of three female service members victimized by rape and other forms of sexual assault. We air excerpts of the film and speak to filmmaker Pascale Bourgaux.