Pentagon Ignores Pervasive Anti-Gay Harassment in Armed Forces

[bigtree]

WASHINGTON, June 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Four years after the Pentagon issued an Anti-Harassment Action Plan to address anti- gay harassment, and a full year after a Congressional inquiry into the matter, the Department of Defense issued it first formal review of its efforts to curb anti-gay harassment in the armed forces. In a July 24, 2004 letter to Members of Congress, Under Secretary of Defense David Chu said implementation of the policy "varies" by service.

"The Department of Defense's response is feckless," said C. Dixon Osburn, Executive Director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). "In four years, the Pentagon has failed to produce evidence of full compliance with its own Anti-Harassment Action Plan, and it has failed to measure and report the level of anti-gay harassment in the field."

>>>>>>>

In December of that year, the Department of Defense Inspector General conducted a survey of 72,000 troops to assess level of anti-gay sentiment in the filed. The Inspector General found that:

-- 80 percent of respondents had heard derogatory, anti-gay remarks during the past year;

-- 37 percent of respondents had witnessed or experienced targeted incidents of anti-gay harassment; and

-- 9 percent of respondents reported witnessing or experiencing anti-gay physical assaults.

Despite such alarming levels of harassment, SLDN reported in its March 2004 Conduct Unbecoming report that "none of the individual services have implemented the training requirements spelled out under the AHAP," that "no service has properly instructed personnel on how to safely report anti-gay harassment," and that "The Pentagon has failed to issue a single Department-wide directive on harassment." And while Chu suggests that the Service Inspector Generals have conducted similar surveys annually, he failed to reveal any data collected from such efforts.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=158-06292004


Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a national, non-profit legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and related forms of intolerance. For more information, visit http://www.sldn.org

[donco6]

1. "80 percent of respondents . . .

-- 80 percent of respondents had heard derogatory, anti-gay remarks during the past year;

The other 20% just weren't listening.

[bigtree]

2. I hear you

[Kanary]

3. Also ignoring violence towards women.......

Huge numbers of rapes against female military.

Kanary

[donco6]

4. All part of the same mentality, non? eom

[Kanary]

5. Same roots, indeed. After all these years of fighting it,

I'm beginning to lose hope that this country will ever change.

The "something rotten" isn't it Denmark...... it's right under our feet.

Kanary

[donco6]

7. I honestly think there are some elements in the military

that tend to reward these things - bagging gays, abusing women - it's all proof of real "manhood."

[Kanary]

8. I have no doubt. Also, in many police depts.

It's a very sick society, and I'm to the point of giving up knowing what the answer is.

Some take great pride in hurting others. At all levels of authority.

What's ever worse is that so many, who are not affected, just don't give a rip. "It ain't my problem."

SICK SOCIETY.

Kanary, sick and tired of continual proof of the rampant sickness

[xchrom]

6. anti-gay violence is higher than 9%

people are reluctant to report events like that -- they are humiliating.
don't ask don't tell -- is a policy of discrimination, nothing else.

[Kanary]

9. And where did the "don't ask, don't tell" policy start...?