Introduction
Despite all the training within the US military, the number of personnel affected by sexual assault and harassment has increased by the day. For instance, in 2018, more than 20500 members of the military were sexually abused, which included 13000 women and 7500 men (Absher, 2022). Only 203 cases were solved through a judicial system which is a negligible percentage compared to the entire number. The purpose of this essay is to inform the reader on why the numbers of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault cases continue to rise throughout the Army, despite all the training that takes place. Cases continue to rise throughout the military due to a lack of diligent training on a more personal level and the decline of morals in our society.
New Training
The Army has provided new training to educate the Soldiers, but they have also provided us with more resources to help the victims. The leadership structure has emphasized an adverse chain of command and radical actions whereby a victim may not be able to intervene due to the existence of senior officers who manipulate the conviction. Soldiers have lacked sufficient access to people and locations to report these cases. As a result, many soldiers learn that sexual assault is not a sensitive matter and may fall prey to the issue at some point in their service (Acosta, Chinman & Shearer, 2021). Many military personnel avoids being termed ‘problem child’ who nags on minute issues they face along the way. Military workers have lacked comfort when reporting these cases to the appropriate points.
Resources for Soldiers
The lack of sufficient resources for soldiers has contributed to the problem of sexual assaults. There are few available centers and people where these cases can be reported after happening. The aspect of living in camps or barracks leads to limited facilities such as digital programs that may help control the matter. Due to the lack of enough resources, many soldiers get depressed when they act abnormally, a subject that contributes to sexual harassment. Lack of proper remuneration and promotions contribute to the worsening of the problem due to depressed minds that seek to relieve themselves with sexual encounters.
SGT Solution to the Problem
A sergeant (SGT) solution can be incorporated whereby middle-ranked officers are mandated to execute punitive actions on any service personnel who breaches the code of practice regarding sexual conduct. There is a need for new training that does not encourage toxic humanity but consideration of human rights (Acosta, Chinman & Shearer, 2021). Training must incorporate ethical conduct within human interactions that have dignity as the core value in any form of military socialization. The other form of solution is the provision of resources to soldiers. For instance, setting the sexual harassment/assault response prevention (SHARP) programs helps to combat the assaults in the armed forces (Miller, Farris & Williams, 2018). SHARP can be integrated with psychiatric sessions that help depressed soldiers recover, reducing the chances of acting wild.
Conclusion
Cases continue to rise throughout the military due to a lack of diligent training on a more personal level and the decline of morals in our society. The purpose of the essay was achieved since the audience can understand more about the increased cases of sexual assault in the US Army. The reason is due to a lack of diligent training on personal levels and the decline of moral standards in society. The moral decay in society has taken sexual assault issues as normal, encouraging the vice to escalate too far levels. There is a need for SGT solutions to have humanity when interacting with each by setting a code of practices that may prevent sexual harassment and also utilizing SHARP. Additionally, the SGT solution is workable by giving the sergeants the power to implement punitive measures against the perpetrators. The essay’s stance is that the US military must establish grounds that will offer human-centric training that boosts the conscience of military personnel regarding sexual issues.
References
Absher, J. (2022). Sexual assaults in the military continue to rise, but major legal reform won’t take effect for years.
Acosta, J., Chinman, M., & Shearer, A. (2021). Countering sexual assault and sexual harassment in the US Military: Lessons from RAND research. Research Reports, 4(2), 1-3. doi: 10.7249/rra1318-1
Miller, L., Farris, C., & Williams, K. (2018). Challenges to evaluating US military policy on sexual assault and sexual harassment. Military Psychology, 30(3), 193-205. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2017.1421821