Among the women serving in the US Armed Forces is an increasing number of those homeless who have been diagnosed with serious mental disorders. The International staff spoke to Elena M. Giordano, a veteran of the US Navy, who was fired after reporting sexual assaults.
The number of homeless veterans increased to more than 3,000 in 2010, compared with 2,000 in 2006, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) report said.
About eighty percent of the homeless veteran women are diagnosed with serious mental disorders, especially with posttraumatic stress disorder. Mental illness makes it difficult for former members to be reintegrated into society, increasing the risk of homelessness. More than one in five women reported having been sexually abused during their service in the military.
The essay spoke to Elena M. Giordano, a veteran of the US Navy, who spoke about her experience in the military.
She said she served in the Army for only a year, but during that time she had four incidents of sexual abuse. The last one was with a serviceman with whom she served, so she had no chance to escape.
Giordano was warned not to report the matter to his commander. She faced retaliation, was eventually punished for what happened and was finally fired.
Citing the recent Pentagon report, the NCHV revealed that the rate of sexual attacks on women among the military has increased by 64 percent since 2006. Most women choose not to report abuse for fear of being ostracized by colleagues.
"It's very difficult because most of the perpetrators of abuse are people you work with, they are people to whom, as you have said, you could trust your life. to try to avoid it [sexual violence], but it is almost impossible, "she explained.
Giordano said that in the US there is a procedure that must be followed, but the problem is that even if a military woman follows this procedure, it is up to her commander to follow up on the process and accept the report as serious.
"At any point during this process, your commander may say that you are lying and you end up being tried instead of your assailant," he said. she said.
According to the Pentagon report released in early 2017, the number of incidents of sexual assault reported by the military reached a record in 2016. The military reported 6,172 cases of sexual assault compared with 6,082 in 2015, the Defense Department in the annual report. There is a large increase from 2012, when 3,604 cases were registered.
An anonymous survey, however, revealed that 14,900 military personnel experienced some form of sexual assault in 2016, compared with 20,300 in 2014.
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