by Dr. Boyce Watkins
www.BoyceWatkins.net
I had a very close friend who described a situation in which she was "scheduled" to be raped during a field exercise by some of the men in her military unit that were not happy with her. Fortunately, there was a man in her unit who cared enough to tell her what was going to happen. I can only wonder what happens to other women put in that unfortunate situation. This is not to say that rape or sexual abuse occurs regularly in the military. But it is to say that when it does appear to have occurred, we should let them know that it is not acceptable.
The case of Lavena Johnson is one that not only brings tears to your eyes, it boils your heart. This young woman, only 19 years old, was found shot in the head, with a broken nose and acid on her genitals (a way to cover up DNA evidence in rape cases), with her death being ruled a highly questionable suicide. No one in the military is willing to thoroughly investigate the case, and they only say that the case is closed. I have done some research on Lavena, and my questions have certainly not been answered. A news story about her horrible experience is in the video below, and I encourage anyone who cares to pass this message onto others.
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If you want to know more about how the military has historically handled, or perhaps mishandled, sexual abuse get a copy of "Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse In America's Military." Among other things it contains the first person accounts of two Black women that were abused while in the service.
I also heard about this story earlier this week on NPR's Democracy Now radio show. They had Pvt Johnson's parents as guests on the show. I was deeply disturbed and disgusted by the military ruling her death as a "suicide" despite their being a lot of evidence that point to a rape and murder.
Dr. Boyce is there an agency/ gov't body we can contact to put pressure on the military to finally have a proper investigation into this poor woman's death?
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