Sex abuse in the Military and then A Teen Trafficking Fellow Students?

This week has been depressing!! I think the whole month has been depressing indeed!! If you have been paying attention, the case of sexual abuse in the military has been in the media now for a while. There is an ongoing problem with sexual assault in the U.S. military. The Department of Defense estimates there are about 19,000 sexual assaults in the military per year. Of the 1,108 cases filed for an investigation, only 575 cases were processed.  Of the cases processed, only 96 went to court-martial. this is in spite of the fact that there exist rules and laws in the books to prevent sexual abuse.
The US Army Study Guide defines sexual assault as:

"Sexual assault is a crime defined as intentional sexual contact, characterized by use of force, physical threat or abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent. Sexual Assault includes: Rape; Non consensual Sodomy (oral or anal sex); Indecent Assault (unwanted, inappropriate sexual contact or fondling); and Attempts to commit these acts." (See  Army Study Guide: "Army Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program"). 

The 2005 Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies report states:

"Within the military community, the term sexual assault carries a more far-reaching meaning that encompasses everything from violent sexual acts such as rape, forcible sodomy, and assault with intent to commit rape or sodomy, to indecent assault. While indecent assault connotes violence, violence is not a prerequisite of the crime. Indecent assault can be a mere sexual touching that occurs without the consent of the person who is touched."^[ (Report of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies)

 

Why is this? Why are the laws being ignored and why is no one taking a step to ensure they violators are held responsible? It is as if the behavior is tolerated as if it was the norm. And did you hear what some Congressmen  said about it? It was not only embarrassing to watch, it was sad to see adults men try to explain the problem away as if they could not do anything about it. One congressman said - it is about hormones in teenagers? Really? is an adult man in a leadership position can speak like a child is disgraceful to this nation and to leadership as a whole.  WATS more here about the congress discussion. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/new-incident-leads-military-to-re-train-and-re-credential-all-sexual-assault-prevention-coordinators/

As I am still disgusted by what transpired, I read about this teenager girl. It reminded me of the last article I wrote. Watch out for abuse, it may just be happening under your nose.
This is a very sad story. A teenage is involved in trafficking girls to her clients. While most may be angry at her, it is our society that is encouraging this behavior. This is a pointer to moral decadence that is now characteristic of our society.

We need to wake up and reorganize society for our children. We need to prevent abuse and human trafficking by re institution clear and specific laws and ensuring that we enforce them stringently to deter potential culprits.  Our religious leaders have a responsibility to do their communities the right thing. Help change our communities so morals can be restored.

Community leaders, need to support religious leaders by ensuring that legal statutes are enforced and that the basic human rights of those who are abused and marginalized are restored. Just saying. Read more about the teen trafficker and writ your comment. We all can learn from you. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/05/18775939-cheerleader-accused-of-prostituting-younger-student?lite

Well, I hope there is some hope here. We all need to do something wherever we are to prevent these beastly behavior. Remember to visit our site www.wiso2011.org to support us in our effort to help prevent abuse and to shelter those in need for a place to stay as they transition from abuse. Visit our wiso2011 facebook to like us and write us at wiso2011@gmail.com with ideas on how we can improve our services to those in abusive situations.