The Department of Defense, usually the last one to hop on the train of progress, has finally made a much needed step toward equality for women in the armed forces by finally opening combat roles to women.
From now on, any role in the military is open to any person, regardless of gender, who qualifies.
This decision, announced by Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter on Dec. 3, puts to rest outdated and misogynistic ideas that women (who pass the same physical and mental requirements as their male counterparts, according the Carter) are inferior in combat.
Women have already been serving in combat zones under fire, but without official combat titles and positions, according to the New York Times.
This restriction didn’t keep women out of combat, but it did keep them from advancing in the military due to lack of official combat experience on their records.
While this is a huge step for the equality and recognition of women in the armed forces, we here on the Editorial Board have to recognize the legitimate concerns of encouraging even more women to join the armed forces.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a range of 20 percent to 48 percent of women in the military are reported as experiencing military sexual assault, which is a startling number, even when compared to the national average of one in six women being sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Eighty percent of women in the military reported experiencing sexual harassment.
On top of these reported figures, CNN reported in 2013 that “victims are often pressured to remain quiet or endure having their reputations and careers tarnished for coming forward.”
This culture of coerced silence is just starting to be addressed, with the addition of special victims units within the military and specialized training to identify and eradicate sexual misconduct, according to CNN.
However, these measures are only successful if the people running them aren’t also misled by the conqueror/conquest mindset of some in the military that so easily lends itself to rape. Even with these new departments in place, it’s unclear how much safer victims of sexual assault, both male and female, really are.
Due to the nature of the work in the military, victims are often stuck in the same physical space as their attacker, whether it be a submarine or the front lines.
What is the protocol for reporting an attack that takes place during an operation?
The real solution would be to change the culture of the military away from encouraging aggression, regardless of whether it’s toward your own comrades, and away from victim blaming.
Opening combat roles to women in the military is a fantastic step — it’s the best news we’ve heard since the armed forces officially allowed gay men and women to enroll in 2011.
But we can’t pretend that it was just the bogus restrictions that hold women back. For a long time, the armed forces has paraded itself as a boys club and it’s going to take a while before that belief and mentality among those in it dissipates.
The military offers a lot of good opportunities and it’s only fair that women have an equal shot to better themselves through the education and training that the military provides.
We don’t want to cut anyone short here.
However, it’s not fair that in order to accept these opportunities, recruits put themselves at great risk of sexual assault and harassment from the men in their units.
Women in the military have won this battle for equality, but the war isn’t over yet.
