Oregon Public Broadcasting

“Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.” That’s a quote from Congresswoman Jane Harman, a California Democrat.

As more women go to war, the issue of sexual harassment and rape within the armed forces is getting more attention. Harman has given the military some praise, but says there’s more to be done.

In our continuing look at the impact of war here at home, Correspondent Austin Jenkins profiles a woman who says she was a victim of military rape.

Angela Peacock: “My name is Angela Peacock. I’m a medically-retired sergeant from the U.S. Army. Served from 1998 to 2004, active duty.”

Angela Peacock has a story to tell. It’s of growing up, joining the Army, being sent to South Korea and being raped.

Angela Peacock: "The last thing I really remember is handing my friend some drinks and I had only had one drink at this point and it’s kind of like dead for a little while like I don’t remember parts of it and then next thing I know I’m like in this guy’s room and I had lost my keys and I couldn’t get into my room.”

Peacock says the guy was a non-commissioned officer – a superior. She remembers him pressuring her for sex and saying no repeatedly.

Angela Peacock: “All I can remember is like flashes of my body being thrown around his bed and I can’t scream, I can’t stop, I can’t move and like I don’t know if I was drugged, which was going around at the time in South Korea or I was hit on the head or something because it was obvious I was not drunk.”

Peacock later was based at Fort Lewis, Washington and served in Iraq. She is profiled in a new documentary series called “In Their Boots.”

She says she reported the rape to her platoon sergeant. But was advised to keep quiet - that going forward would hurt her career.

Peacock’s story is far from an isolated incident. Statistics vary, but a recent study suggests 15 percent of female veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who sought treatment at VA center report being sexually assaulted or harassed.

Department of Defense numbers are lower. But there seems to be broad consensus that -- as in the civilian world -- rape in the military is vastly under-reported.

Dr. Kay Whitley: “If I had to say there’s one goal or one push that we are moving toward is to remove the barriers to reporting and get women to come forward and report.”

Dr. Kay Whitley runs the Department of Defense’s recently created Sexual Assault and Prevention Office. She says since 2004 the military has taken significant steps to address the issue of MST or Military Sexual Trauma.

For instance, the Pentagon created a system to allow soldiers to report rapes confidentially. Also, advocates have been deployed throughout the military to help victims navigate the system. But Whitley concedes that what’s needed is a change in the military culture - and that will be harder.

She compares the effort to the Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk campaign by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Dr. Kay Whitley: “There was a point in time where we would never have taken someone’s car keys away and now we do. Sexual assault is similar in that we’re trying to get people in the military to take care of their buddy to try to prevent from sexual assaults from happening.”

Veterans Advocate Susan Avila-Smith at home in Enumclaw, Washington

But critics say the military still isn’t doing enough to address the issue of rape, assault and harassment.

Susan Avila Smith of Enumclaw, Washington is a former Army linguist. She says she was sexually assaulted in an Army hospital in 2003.

She was also stalked and harassed by her former husband who was also in the military. Today, she’s a volunteer advocate for victims of military rape. Avila-Smith says the deck is still stacked against women who report being assaulted.

Susan Avila-Smith: “In the military you live, eat, breathe, work with these perpetrators around, you can’t get away from them and if you turn them in and anger their friends you also risk retaliation because there’s a lot of retaliation that goes on after reporting something like this.”

Avila-Smith says in many cases the women she helps have remained silent for years – even decades.

Often the rape leads to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She says the women she helps sometimes can barely function in society.

That’s one reason U.S. Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington State, is pushing to improve the healthcare system for women veterans. She’s introduced a bill that -- among other things -- would require the VA to train mental health professionals to treat the aftermath of Military Sexual Trauma.

Senator Patty Murray: “We have to have a VA system that accommodates women, and to have the facilities that women feel comfortable going into and getting the treatment so if they have been sexually traumatized wherever they served they can get the help that they need.”

Former Army Sergeant Angela Peacock agrees the Veterans health system needs improvement. But she describes a boys’ club atmosphere in the lowest ranks of the military and says that’s where the real change needs to happen.

Angela Peacock: “Zero tolerance, no jokes, no conversations that are leading that way and the whole culture of the military is like drinking and strip clubs for the men – that’s just what goes on with the lower enlisted.”

Today Peacock lives in St. Louis and is receiving treatment for PTSD. She hopes to someday go to college, but says she’s just not emotionally ready yet.

Online:

“In Their Boots”

DOD Sexual Assault Prevention and Response