You’d think if anybody would be sensitive to the plight of women in the military it would women, but that’s just not the case when it comes to Fox commentator, Liz Trotta.
Yesterday, she appeared on a news segment discussing the Pentagon’s recommendation to let women serve at the battalion level in the military, and she wasted no time attacking the Department of Defense for increasing spending on support programs for victims of sexual assault.
“We have women once more, the feminist, going, wanting to be warriors and victims at the same time,” Liz said of the women pushing to be allowed to serve closer to the front lines. And when it comes to the 64% increase in such assaults since 2006, she had this to say:
“Well, what did they expect? These people are in close contact.”
Liz went on to cite the huge increase in spending that has come along with women being granted more rights in their military service. According to stats she read from the McClatchy Newspapers, the budget for the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office went from $5 million in fiscal year 2005 to more than $23 million in fiscal 2010, and now the total exceeds $113 million annually. That sounds like a pretty huge jump, but as news anchor Eric Shawn pointed out, the programs are obviously necessary…right?
“That’s funny, Liz said, “I thought the mission of the Army, and the Navy, and four services was to defend and protect us, not the people who were fighting the war.”
Wow. While I get Liz’s point about the greater risk putting women on the front lines poses in terms of sexual assault, it’s a little 1920s to say we won’t allow women to serve on the battalion level because predators can’t control their urges. Maybe we should allocate more funds to provide counseling for men who might seek to attack these women, rather than limit their ability to serve.
What do you think about this debate? Should women be allowed to serve on the front lines given the risk of sexual assault?
Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.
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