The “Wrong Enemy”: How #MeToo Failed Women Veterans
Before the #MeToo movement gained national notoriety in 2017, legal groups, a few vocal (female) senators, and women’s military advocacy organizations had been petitioning US Congress to address the rampant rate of sexual violence within the active-duty ranks with no perceptible success. Initially, the #MeToo movement seemed custom-made for military members and veterans who had experienced sexual violence in the military.
This lecture will be a qualitative case study which will explore the tension that has always existed between feminists and female military members – as most feminist groups are adamantly anti-war – using publicly available statistical data from NGOs and the US government, academic papers, social discourse, and primary sources. This lecture will explore the ramifications of leaving a vulnerable population undefended due to the implicit bias from feminist groups which ignores why women serve in the military. This bias has left female military members venerable, with no large social movement support network and very few lobbyists to make this a legislative priority.
Active duty members are limited in the action they can take because of military regulations. While most assaults are swept under the rug of redaction, those cases that are adjudicated are often done using non-judicial punishment, with the accused not being added to any official sex offender list.
If we pay attention to military #MeToo stories, we may have to admit our “heroes”, can also be predators.
