Is this legal? No farangs welcome...

[webfact]

Senator McSally, an Air Force veteran, says she was raped by a superior officer

By Eric Beech

 

U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) speaks during a Senate Armed Subcommittee hearing on preventing sexual assault where she spoke about her experience of being sexually assaulted in the military on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Martha McSally, the first female combat pilot in the U.S. Air Force, said on Wednesday she had been raped by a superior officer but did not report it because she blamed herself and did not trust the system.

 

"The perpetrators abuse their position of power in profound ways, and in one case I was preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer," McSally said during a Senate hearing on sexual assault in the military.

 

"But unlike so many brave survivors, I didn't report being sexually assaulted," she added. "Like so many women and men, I didn't trust the system. I blamed myself. I was ashamed and confused. I thought I was strong but felt powerless."

 

Sexual assault and harassment in the U.S. military is largely under-reported and came under renewed scrutiny two years ago after a scandal involving Marines sharing nude photos of women online came to light.

 

"I stayed silent for many years, but later in my career as the military grappled with scandals and their wholly inadequate responses, I felt the need to let some people know: I too was a survivor," McSally said at the Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing.

 

"I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences were handled," she said, adding that she came close to leaving the Air Force after 18 years.

 

"Like many victims, I felt the system was raping me all over again."

 

Air Force spokeswoman Captain Carrie Volpe said in a statement: "We are appalled and deeply sorry for what Senator McSally experienced and we stand behind her and all victims of sexual assault. We are steadfast in our commitment to eliminate this reprehensible behaviour and breach of trust in our ranks."

 

McSally's disclosure came less than two months after Senator Joni Ernst, an Army veteran, said publicly that she had been raped in college by someone she knew and that her ex-husband had physically abused her. An attorney for her former husband declined to comment at the time.

 

Ernst, a Republican, has in the past worked with Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to combat sexual assault in the military.

 

McSally, 52, an Arizona Republican who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was appointed in December by the state's governor to take over the Senate seat once held by the late John McCain. A special election will be held in 2020 to fill the remaining two years of McCain's six-year term.

 

In November's congressional elections, McSally lost to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema in the contest for Arizona's other U.S. Senate seat, formerly held by Republican Jeff Flake.

 

(Reporting by Eric Beech, Mohammad Zargham and Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-07

[Tug]

God that sucks go find the guy and kick the cr%# out of him

[mtls2005]

The list of women in the (U.S.) military not sexually abused might be shorter, if various IG reports are to be believed.

[Baerboxer]

9 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

The list of women in the (U.S.) military not sexually abused might be shorter, if various IG reports are to be believed.

 

It's becoming almost fashionable to recount a rape, sexual assault, abuse of power at the moment.

 

Those who waited many many years, and now decide to reveal it may well find that memories are as crystal clear as they think they are.

I have met a considerable number of people who twist reality a little bit at a time over many years until they get a version they like; which they then hold to be the only truth.

 

 

[colinneil]

Whilst i am not saying she is making it up, it is the second time she has supposed to have been raped.

First when she was a college student, says her sport coach forced her to have sex, now it was when she was in the airforce, why were neither incidents reported, and why wait till now?

[Credo]

5 hours ago, colinneil said:

Whilst i am not saying she is making it up, it is the second time she has supposed to have been raped.

First when she was a college student, says her sport coach forced her to have sex, now it was when she was in the airforce, why were neither incidents reported, and why wait till now?

She ran for the US Senate in Arizona as a Republican.   Arizona is a very conservative state and she managed to lose to a pretty left-wing Democrat.   She ran a dirty campaign with constant negative (and questionable) ads.   Trump even came to campaign for her.   

 

I don't necessarily disbelieve her, but it's interesting, she comes forward now, but doesn't give any names.   This is also a rather telling statement:  

 

I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences were handled"

 

Why the word 'generally'?   Most people addressing rape are pretty specific about what happened, when it happened and who did it.   

 

I'll hold off judgment for a time to see if her claim holds water and if her current statements are just a prelude to a full disclosure.   

 

[bendejo]

I knew this guy who was continually raped by his father when he was a kid.  His goal in life was to become famous and then, when the attention of the world was upon him, he would reveal this to all.  He would bitterly joke that he was working on his Oscars acceptance speech.  This was decades ago, I don't think the 'getting famous' part worked out.

 

But that's what I first thought of when I heard of this.  And bear in mind she is a Republican, not some snowflake-metoo-liberal proponent of human decency, as mentioned in an above post.  Much to her luck John McCain died so even though she lost the election she was appointed to McCain's Senate seat for the interim (I think the election will be in 2020).  Maybe she plans on somehow parlaying her story into a a campaign gambit. 

But I do give her credit for trying to convey to DT she was not comfortable with saying things on the stump that were outright lies.