She Didn't Act Like a Rape Victim

“Our rapes were on us, the Army was telling us, and neither I, nor the specialist, nor this staff sergeant acted enough “like a rape victim,” a mantra often repeated by the investigators in my own case...Despite my own visible, documented injuries, I didn’t cry hard enough, loud enough, in the military police station in the hours after my rape, in front of a group of men who had no intention of believing me anyway.”

“When we stay silent to protect ourselves, we perpetuate our own isolation. We are a sea of women, and yet we make islands out of each other. Something has got to break, and it shouldn’t be us anymore.”

This article was written in response to three judges on the Army Appeals Court overturning a rape conviction. Their argument: the sex must have been consensual because the alleged rapist (Cadet Jacob D. Whisenhunt) “made no effort to avoid being detected” and behaved as if he had nothing to hide. Women in the army often do not report their rape or sexual assault because they 1) do not want to jeopardize their job or security clearance, 2) fear retaliation, and/or 3) accept it as part of the workplace culture. In extreme cases, they could be killed.

“Every rape in the Army is unreal, unbelievable — but only because we already know that almost no one will believe [the victim]. It’s easier not to.” If a victim didn’t yell, he/she must have wanted it, because rape victims “must yell, cry and fight.” But even for those who do fight back and have the bruises to prove it, there is almost no reason to report the rape/sexual assault to a “group of men who have no intention of believing” the victim. Cadet Jacob D. Whisenhunt did not have reason to fear; he did not have reason to hide. His actions say nothing about his guilt or innocence, but his confidence certainly speaks volumes about how the army handles rape and sexual assault allegations.