PBS Newshour: Changing the Culture of Sexual Assault Against Female Service Members
A PBS Newshour story quotes Protect Our Defenders’ advisory committee board member Jessica Hinves:
Jessica Hinves, an airman first class who was profiled in the documentary “Invisible War’ and on the PBS NewsHour, said that she had no problem with 90 percent of the men. For her, the camaraderie in the Air Force fell into one of two categories. There were the jokes, and there was harassment. Hinves reported that she was raped in January 2009 at Nellis Air Force base.
“Things that were just a joke, I could live with it. It didn’t bother me,” said Hinves. “But when they were directed at me and they made me uncomfortable, I didn’t know what to do. If I would have told, I would have been ostracized. I would have been like a leper in that community.”
Hinves said she kept the discomfort to herself to save her career. And she regrets not speaking up for other women who had endured the same treatment.
Hannagan suggests these sex crimes act as a weapon against servicewomen who threaten classic masculinity. She says that these crimes rate vary in service and in career fields, but they seem to happen most often in military professions where women are still struggling to integrate.
