Women under not-so-friendly fire.

• Author: Blum, Sarah L.
• Position: Armed Services - Column

COLLEEN MUSSOLINO, an Army cook in the 1960s, was gang-raped by four soldiers who took her into the woods. Her assailants had to put their knees on her arms to keep her from fighting them off. They beat her unconscious after raping her. When she regained consciousness, she was bruised on her neck, head, jaw, and arms, and was bleeding down her thighs. Mussolino ran to the road and some military police stopped and took her to the hospital. Then the Criminal Investigation Division took over and interrogated her from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. five days a week for six weeks. Then they threatened her with dishonorable discharge if she did not sign a paper saying she would not prosecute. "I felt betrayed and made the criminal. I felt like a prisoner of war instead of a woman soldier who was gang-raped."

One of our brave service members is sexually assaulted every 20 minutes. In 2012, assaults increased 35% and, in 2013, rose 60%. Worst of all, 62% of those who reported sexual assault were retaliated against by being shamed, humiliated, ostracized, isolated, and denied privacy and compassionate care, their health and self-respect destroyed and career ended. The scourge today is worse than ever and has been going on for decades. Most of these assaults are from repeat offenders and serial rapists. It is an enormous shame that the U.S. and its military have chosen to allow the rampant sexual abuse of women, who routinely are disrespected, demeaned, and demoralized.

I interviewed 58 women veterans from each branch of the military over the past seven years to expose this atrocity. The stories are horrific--and demand justice. The military must not be allowed to investigate and police itself; it is too self-protective. If our military would hold offenders accountable and punish criminal behavior, there would be justice for these women.

What follows is an all-too-typical case: Ellen, a medic in Iraq in 2005-06, was raped repeatedly by an NCO (noncommissioned officer) E-6, physical therapy specialist. "He forced me down to the clinic hurting me with my arm twisted behind my back. I told him, 'Just leave me alone. I don't know what you want. I don't like this--let me go!' He said, 'No, you will like what I have in store; you'll enjoy this.' I yelled, 'I most certainly will not enjoy this. Let me go!'

"'Don't scream; you can't do anything to me because I outrank you. You will lose your family, your job, everything because you are married and I'm not. It will be...