More than 200,000 women have been deployed in combat (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). Women make up 15% of armed forces (Bhagwati, Anu). As more and more women go into the army, the more reports of sexual harassment increase. Anu Bhagwati, the executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network, talks about her experiences while in the Marine Corps. She describes that everyday she had to listen to daily harassment from her male peers such as “women are weak, lazy, and don’t belong in the Marine Corps,” to hearing rape jokes and demeaning vocabulary (Bhagwati, Anu). When she tried to report these incidents, she was ignored, criticized, or punished (Bhagwati, Anu). In 2007, 2,846 cases of sexual harassment were reported, and that number increased to 6,131 in 2014 (Whitlock, Craig). Pentagon officials say that this increase is a good, because it shows that more people are willing to report these incidents (Whitlock, Craig). This is good and all, but how does this help anyone if people don’t get in trouble for committing these crimes? It doesn’t. People need to wake up and realize that nothing is going to change until people start getting punished for their actions. Moreover, when women return home, they are discriminated against. They are forced to see a mandatory counselor whether they saw combat or not (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). They are not recognized as veterans (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). A North Carolina Air Force veteran found a note on her car after she parked in a “Veteran Parking,” that read,”This space is reserved for those who fought for America…not you,” (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). Society needs to realize that women are veterans
More than 200,000 women have been deployed in combat (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). Women make up 15% of armed forces (Bhagwati, Anu). As more and more women go into the army, the more reports of sexual harassment increase. Anu Bhagwati, the executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network, talks about her experiences while in the Marine Corps. She describes that everyday she had to listen to daily harassment from her male peers such as “women are weak, lazy, and don’t belong in the Marine Corps,” to hearing rape jokes and demeaning vocabulary (Bhagwati, Anu). When she tried to report these incidents, she was ignored, criticized, or punished (Bhagwati, Anu). In 2007, 2,846 cases of sexual harassment were reported, and that number increased to 6,131 in 2014 (Whitlock, Craig). Pentagon officials say that this increase is a good, because it shows that more people are willing to report these incidents (Whitlock, Craig). This is good and all, but how does this help anyone if people don’t get in trouble for committing these crimes? It doesn’t. People need to wake up and realize that nothing is going to change until people start getting punished for their actions. Moreover, when women return home, they are discriminated against. They are forced to see a mandatory counselor whether they saw combat or not (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). They are not recognized as veterans (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). A North Carolina Air Force veteran found a note on her car after she parked in a “Veteran Parking,” that read,”This space is reserved for those who fought for America…not you,” (Tzemach Lemmon, Gayle). Society needs to realize that women are veterans