An anonymous survey sent out to troops nationwide months ahead of the Marines United scandal showed that many men and women were fielding very similar complaints about sexual harassment and exploitation. According to a report released by the Pentagon on Monday, close to 6,200 men and women said that at some point nude photos of them had been shared, and a further breakdown of statistic showed that the large majority of those men and women happened to be female Marines.
The reports highlight the growing failures of military commanders not acting fast enough to stamp out the widespread trend of revenge porn and sexual harassment that has run rampant in the military for years. The Pentagon also said that it has used surveys just like the one released to track statistics on sexual assault for years, but the same lack of forward movement on the hot-button issue is what made representatives in congress upset with military leaders over the aftermath of the Marines United scandal.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand voiced her frustrations when speaking to Marine Corps Commandant General Robert Neller.
“So, I — I have to say when you say to us ‘it’s got to be different,’ that rings hollow,” she said. “I don’t know what you mean when you say that. Why does it have to be different? Because you all of a sudden feel that it has to be different? Who has been held accountable? I very much align myself with — with Senator Fischer’s comments.
“Who has been held responsible?” Gillibrand continued. “Have you actually investigated and found guilty anybody? If we can’t crack Facebook, how are you, we supposed to be able to confront Russian aggression and cyber hacking throughout our military? It is a serious problem when we have members of our military denigrating female Marines who will give their life to this country in the way they have with no response.”
[revad2]
