The Military's Less Than Honorable Record

Taylor McMahon

The epidemic of sexual assault and violence against women in the United States Military is not a new occurrence. While it has gained more traction in the media in the past 10 years it has been making news for longer and has been occurring within the ranks even when it doesn't make the news. The Tailhook Scandal in 1991 brought to the toxic culture within the military towards women to the public eye. Tailhook however was only one of many incidents that had occurred up until that point and many would follow. The 90s in particular had the Department of Defense coming under fire from the media as many cases came up as women came forward with their stories. Unfortunately, this is still a prevalent reality in the military today and it continues to make headlines like in the instance of Vanessa Guillen in 2020. The stories of these women continue to ring true even today as women entering the military expect that this is a very real reality that they may have to face and even if they don't face sexual assault or rape, they likely will face sexual harassment and comments.

References:

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Lori. “Lori's Story: Protect Our Defenders.” Protect Our Defenders |, 2 Apr. 2020, www.protectourdefenders.com/survivor-story/loris-story-2/.

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