As titles go, this seems rather absurd. Can you imagine being raped, reporting it, and then being told you have a personality disorder and then losing your job. Stories of sexual assault get stranger the more you hear. Who would do this to a person. The frightening answer is the U.S. Military. Countless woman are diagnosed with a personality disorder when they report sexual assaults within the military chain. This unusual diagnosis basically says it was a pre-existing condition which preceded service admission and both disqualifies them from further military service, and in most cases makes them ineligible for services resulting from the abuse.
The following was obtained by Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic under a Freedom of Information Act request.
- In the Army, 16% of all soldiers are women, but females constitute 24% of all personality disorder discharges.
- Air Force: women make up 21% of the ranks and 35% of personality disorder discharges.
- Navy: 17% of sailors are women and 26% of personality disorder discharges
- Marines: 7% of the Corps and 14% of personality disorder discharges
Gender Bias
This hasn’t been tracked specifically to sexual assault reports, but it does paint a biased picture. CNN has been following the lives of many of these women. The story is always pretty much the same. They report the abuse and as part of their evaluation they are treated as liars and separated for having a personality disorder. Aside from the humiliation, many of these women are finding themselves liable for repaying signing bonuses plus interest.
The story is similar with sexual harassment. Many years ago a friend of mine filed a sexual harassment complaint against her boss. The shit storm that came down on her both forced her out of the military and seriously damaged her health. I’ve witnessed more than a couple instances where the institution protected itself. I say it that way, because it is rare that any one person could exercise this level of control. It exists in the military, churches, school systems, and companies.
The system wants normal restored, and disruptive influences are not tolerated. Sexual abuse is not a disruptive, reporting sexual abuse is. The challenge is to get to the point where disruptive, becomes part of the normal. This has been true of concepts like the earth being round, equal rights, and civil rights. People who try to bring the concept to light are persecuted and often even killed. What speeds the process of enlightenment is awareness. So spread the word.
Let us know if we can help you dealing with your family’s sexual abuse victim situation. For ideas to get started please check out our book on what to do during the early days after disclosure.
