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17 Victims Sue Pentagon Over "Plague" Of Sexual Violence


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This is a topic that affects me personally. I have never been raped, but I know the victim of one of these rapes in the military. I worked with her my first summer at the park service, and she is my role model. Panayiota Bertzikis was raped while station in a coast guard center in Burlington, Vermont. She suffered much abuse at the hands of some of the men at the station, and when she reported her rape she was called a liar and diagnosed with a mental disorder.

 

She went on to found the Military Rape Crisis Center and is engaged to be married. Ms. Bertzikis is a personal friend of mine, and it means a lot if whoever reads this takes the time to read the articles and put their comments in. This woman, and all the woman survivors, are amazing in every way possible. I am so proud of Py and am happy that she has taken her life back.

 

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/15/17-victims-sue-pentagon-over-plague-of-sexual-violence/?icid=maing|aim|dl4|sec1_lnk3|44287

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/15/veterans-say-rape-cases-mishandled/?page=2&utm_medium=RSS&utm_source=RSS_Feed

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Wow it is amazing that these victims found the strength within to not only open up about this, but fight it. I have a close friend who was raped when she was younger. She has only told me about it because it scares her so much. The fact that these women are able to face that fear is really something to admire!! I am so happy that they are able to come out about and try and bring a stop to it. Too often the victims of rape have been called liars. To often have the victims been blamed for what has happened. I am so happy to see these women stick up for themselves. I hope that one of the many outcomes of this case will not only put a stop too rape within the military, but bring farther awareness out. To many people are turning their back on rape victims. This is something we all need to take a stand on!

 

Thank you so much for posting this Karen. Also, you are amazing!! I am so proud to know that you helped fight this. You were really involved in this cause, and that is amazing!! Great job girl!!!

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Militaries are essentially predatory societies within societies, created by men originally. Aggression is a needed quality - and so it`s not always the most "balanced" people who are attracted to the service.

As long as women are generally unable to meet force (from men) with equal force, this will happen again and again.

Short of having unlimited surveillance in all installations and have female troops carry a gun at any time everywhere else, I don`t know what could stop it.

 

Great though you're trying to help, Karen. Hope it doesn`t get all bogged down with endless blahblah in court or in hearings and commissions....

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i dont understand y these people rape innocent people rather then going to prostitute...sorry if i sound stupid

 

Rape is more about power then the sex. If a man goes to a prostitute and pays her she has the power. Obviously in some cases men get the 'power' back from prostitutes by abusing and even killing them, but thats a whole different topic.

But people who rape other people have problems, you'll never be able to understand what goes on in their head. It doesn't sound stupid btw, not understanding that just shows that your not messed up in the head.

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Even if they don't win the court case, Panayiota posted on her facebook "MRCC (Military rape crisis center, her organization) received more emails from survivors reaching out in a 24 hours than we typically do in a two week period. In my eyes we already won this lawsuit because survivors are coming forward for help and know that they are NOT alone."

 

I think that pretty much sums it up and I'm so happy that her organization and this issue is finally getting the attention it deserves.

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i dont understand y these people rape innocent people rather then going to prostitute...sorry if i sound stupid

 

You sound really ignorant. No one should be raped. Every victim of rape is innocent whether they're a nun, elderly, young, fat, skinny, or yes, even a prostitute. The blame lies on the rapist and this nation's rape culture that blames the victim and not the criminal.

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You sound really ignorant. No one should be raped. Every victim of rape is innocent whether they're a nun, elderly, young, fat, skinny, or yes, even a prostitute. The blame lies on the rapist and this nation's rape culture that blames the victim and not the criminal.

Wow...just wow.

 

Let's back up a second here. I don't think OB was insinuating that someone should rape a prostitute. I think they were wondering why, instead of raping someone, don't they just go to a prostitute to get their rocks off. But that is making the mistake that rape is a crime of passion which it is not.

 

Also, I don't know that this nation has a rape culture. Rape is something that has been going on for millennia. And we do not blame the victim. Yes, those who perpetrated the rape and/or those who are covering it up blame the victim but that is because they have a reason to. If they can put the blame off on someone else then maybe they can get off scott free.

 

If anything our society believes the victim without much proof. (I'm not saying that's the case here) Someone accused of a crime is supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty but in the case of rape it's the other way around and the onus is on the accused to exonerate themselves. The onus is not upon the victim to prove the guilt of the accused. There have been many cases of a woman falsely accusing a guy of rape for one reason or another and public opinion almost always sides with the woman. It's not until much later that the truth came out that she was blackmailing or manipulating him/the system/ or the situation. But by then he is already considered guilty in the court of public opinion and it's near impossible for him to regain the credibility that he lost.

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You sound really ignorant. No one should be raped. Every victim of rape is innocent whether they're a nun, elderly, young, fat, skinny, or yes, even a prostitute. The blame lies on the rapist and this nation's rape culture that blames the victim and not the criminal.

 

I agree with the Dude, I don't think thats what he meant, he just meant that if you want to have sex why not go to a prostitute and pay them rather then raping someone who does not want to have sex with you. Yes it was 'ignorant' to think that people rape people because they can't get sex with someone willingly, but I'd say innocent more then ignorant.

 

I agree that it's wrong to blame the victim and your right in a lot of cases the victims are still blamed to some extent. Such as their clothing being brought into question. However, I think that is getting better rather then worse, people are starting to stand up and say that rape victims should be given more support which a few years ago was not happening. However on the other hand, there are women who abuse that and falsely claim men of raping them, which again is an absolutely disgusting thing to do.

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^^Yeah, I haven't seen so much in the news here lately myself. But obviously know it does go on and its disgusting, there's no excuse for rape and no blame other then on the rapist. Noone asks or deserves it, I can understand how you got angry.

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This is a topic that affects me personally. I have never been raped, but I know the victim of one of these rapes in the military. I worked with her my first summer at the park service, and she is my role model. Panayiota Bertzikis was raped while station in a coast guard center in Burlington, Vermont. She suffered much abuse at the hands of some of the men at the station, and when she reported her rape she was called a liar and diagnosed with a mental disorder.

 

She went on to found the Military Rape Crisis Center and is engaged to be married. Ms. Bertzikis is a personal friend of mine, and it means a lot if whoever reads this takes the time to read the articles and put their comments in. This woman, and all the woman survivors, are amazing in every way possible. I am so proud of Py and am happy that she has taken her life back.

 

First off, I wanted to say thanks for posting this Karen. It has taken me a while to think about what I wanted to write about in my post on this topic. This is an issue which affects me personally as well.

I think the most remarkable thing which Ms. Bertzikis has done is what you have written: she has "taken her life back". She recognized the importance of bringing out awareness surounding sexual assault within the military while overcoming her own struggles. To me, that is noteable. I can see why you would look up to such a strong woman as Ms. Bertzikis.

 

 

Wow it is amazing that these victims found the strength within to not only open up about this, but fight it. I have a close friend who was raped when she was younger. She has only told me about it because it scares her so much. The fact that these women are able to face that fear is really something to admire!! I am so happy that they are able to come out about and try and bring a stop to it. Too often the victims of rape have been called liars. To often have the victims been blamed for what has happened. I am so happy to see these women stick up for themselves. I hope that one of the many outcomes of this case will not only put a stop too rape within the military, but bring farther awareness out. To many people are turning their back on rape victims. This is something we all need to take a stand on!

 

Thank you so much for posting this Karen. Also, you are amazing!! I am so proud to know that you helped fight this. You were really involved in this cause, and that is amazing!! Great job girl!!!

 

I agree, Arie, in regard to the hope of the outcome of this case. I think the importance of this issue is to bring "awareness" without from within an organization or even an individual life. For organizations, like the MRCC, the idea behind federal action and court cases is to set precedence regardless if the case wins or not. It demonstrates the fight and character of survivors(regardless of their gender) and lets other survivors know that there are outlets and resources to turn to.

And it seems to be working, as Karen had mentioned that the MRCC, in the weeks after the announcement of the court case, had received more e-mails in twenty-four hours than it has in a given two week period.

It's not the first time court cases regarding sexual assault have gone federal, and I assume it certainly will not be the last time either. I recently purchased and watched a film called "North Country" based on the social working environment of two and a half decades ago in the United States. A miner, who was sexually harrassed and abused while onsite in a coal mine, had the gumption to file a first-class action lawsuit against the mining company in 1984 (Jenson v Eveleth Mines) and was successful, setting precedence in the very first major sexual harassment case.

Also, I am not sure if anyone is familiar with another organization: Joyful Heart Foundation (founded by Mariska Hargitay in 2004). The Foundation and Hargitay vigorously worked this past year, and are still working, on a congressional hearing regarding the extreme amount of backlogs in rape cases. (OK, enough of my tangent, I was just trying to show the progressive action which has occurred.)

And, Arie, I am glad your friend has you to turn to. Anyone involved in this cause, who tries to bring awareness about and is proactive about it, is amazing.

 

Militaries are essentially predatory societies within societies, created by men originally. Aggression is a needed quality - and so it`s not always the most "balanced" people who are attracted to the service.

As long as women are generally unable to meet force (from men) with equal force, this will happen again and again.

Short of having unlimited surveillance in all installations and have female troops carry a gun at any time everywhere else, I don`t know what could stop it.

 

Militaries may be "essentially predatory societies within societies" and were originally created by men, but I do not agree that aggression is a necessary quality. Defense might prove to work much better, as one proactively seeks to protect standards and ideologies (which are not necessarily the most correct ones at times). Agreed that the route to defense may be taken via aggression, but if aggression may be proven to be a "necessity", then it should be directed toward an aggreed upon opposition--not to members within the same organization or installation.

If a correlation can be established between aggression and need for power or dominance, but not as cause and effect then there has to be ways to re-route this behaviour.

Besides "unlimited surveillance" and having female members of the military "carry a gun at any time", my wonder is if they screen backgrounds and create psychological profiles or evaluations on newly recruited members. According to the articles, some male troops (with priors, such as domestic violence charges) were given pardons in order to join the military because of the high demand for recruitment. If there is an evident case of a troop who was previously charged and convicted on domestic violence charges with a result of sexually assaulting another member of the military, how did this even happen ?

 

 

If anything our society believes the victim without much proof. (I'm not saying that's the case here) Someone accused of a crime is supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty but in the case of rape it's the other way around and the onus is on the accused to exonerate themselves. The onus is not upon the victim to prove the guilt of the accused. There have been many cases of a woman falsely accusing a guy of rape for one reason or another and public opinion almost always sides with the woman. It's not until much later that the truth came out that she was blackmailing or manipulating him/the system/ or the situation. But by then he is already considered guilty in the court of public opinion and it's near impossible for him to regain the credibility that he lost.

 

It may be "near impossible to regain the credibility that he [the accused] lost" if a situation turns out that a survivor lied about being sexually assaulted. This has happened many times, and has been written about in literature for ages.

However I do not necessarily think that public opinion swings as fast as to side with a survivor, whether it be in a televised or non-televised court case situation or in a survivor's private life. Just as there have been times of support given for a survivor publicly, there have been equal amount of times which a survivor has been condemned or "signed-off" (whose opinion was disregarded either in disbelief and/or the retention of provincial beliefs of the confidant) in favour of the perpetrator.

This is the main argument for survivors of sexual assault, harrassment, or rape, who refuse to come forward regarding divulging their ordeals publicly--whether it be to another person, or to a group/organisation, or treatment professional or even proper authorities. If they have not been confronted with opposition or disregard, there is a fear of stigma that looms in their forefront of thoughts. Just as it can be nearly impossible to "regain credibility" for a falsely accused perpetrator, it can be equally as difficult for a survivor to establish and retain their credibility.

 

I agree that it's wrong to blame the victim and your right in a lot of cases the victims are still blamed to some extent. Such as their clothing being brought into question. However, I think that is getting better rather then worse, people are starting to stand up and say that rape victims should be given more support which a few years ago was not happening. However on the other hand, there are women who abuse that and falsely claim men of raping them, which again is an absolutely disgusting thing to do.

 

I agree that overall general thought and public opinions of cases have broaden since a few years ago.

My above argument regarding The Dude's statement was just offering a potential oppositional point. It is wrong for any gender to falsely claim ordeals of abuse. As much as it is hard to understand motive behind false accusations, there are reasons which a false victim may possess no matter how illogical or irrational they are. Irrationality from a false victim (I wouldn't necessarily venture to call them perpetrators, although the term may fit) often stems from something rational or reality-based in an accuser's stimuli (or outside surroundings).

 

^^Yeah, I haven't seen so much in the news here lately myself. But obviously know it does go on and its disgusting, there's no excuse for rape and no blame other then on the rapist. Noone asks or deserves it, I can understand how you got angry.

 

The whole issue gets people who learn about, deal with it, or write about it very heated and at times outraged. It's hard not to control that emotion. The articles bothered me while I read it, because no one does deserve going through an ordeal like this. However, it happens. These women, though, have become and are becoming better equipped to deal with managing their stress, fear, and feelings.

More power to them.

----

Maybe some food for thought: Do any of you believe there will be repercussions for these survivors(/victims) as this case goes through its motions and filings? Directly for those involved and those who testify?

It's something which I've been wondering.

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For the assailants, I think they have gotten off easily. Panayiota always talks about how she was the one who was victimized and no one believed her; in fact, they told her to "deal with it". She had to live with her attacker above her for two years, with no lock on her door. I think in a lot of cases, the attackers get off easy. This might be for a variety of reasons: They don't get caught, or people don't take it seriously enough, or other people don't care to say anything. There is always a double standard for guys and women, one which makes me exceedingly frustrated. If guys sleep around, they are usually praised for it, but if women do that, they are called a sk*** or a sl**, or something like that. I don't know what it's like for rape, but there are some really disgusting people out there that wouldn't care if a guy raped a girl. I actually know of a case where one of my friends (a guy) had a girl he went out with for a while - the girl had broken up with her boyfriend before my friend because her ex raped her - and then once she and my guy friend had broken up she went back TO THE RAPIST. WHAT??? Honestly, that just dumbfounds me. So yeah, to answer your question Kim, I think there are repercussions all around but they might not be what is expected, or nearly enough.

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