Raising awareness of sexual assault in the military: Olympia activists support Suzanne Swift

author : Janet Blanding topic : Fort Lewis | Iraq occupation | Suzanne Swift

by Janet Blanding

Suzanne Swift, a victim of rape and sexual harassment by her superior officers, is being forced to continue military service against her will as the army drags its heels over investigating her complaints. A group of Olympians refuse to tolerate this institutionalized abuse. They have formed an organization called the Swift Action Network and are engaged in actions to bring this issue to public attention and force the military to deal with it swiftly and openly.

According to her mother, Sara Rich, Suzanne Swift was sent to Iraq almost immediately after joining the army, where she was unable to protect herself from sexual assaults by two of her superior officers. Rich described the sexual assault suffered by her daughter as "command rape," a term which refers to situations in which a commanding officer, who has the power to put a victim in dangerous situations, uses that status to coerce sexual favors. "It's when a person has total control over your life or death in a combat zone. They can tell you to run across a minefield, and you have to comply," explains Rich. "If they coerce you or do something with you that's sexual, it's called command rape." Rich believes that this practice is condoned by the military, and says that women who are trapped in sexually coercive relationships of this nature are commonly referred to as "deployment girlfriends."

Even the Department of Defense's own sexual assault prevention materials acknowledge that deployment is a particularly risky time for sexual assault. In response to numerous reports of sexual assault in Iraq, in 2004 Donald Rumsfeld commissioned a task force to examine the how the Department of Defense responds to sexual crimes, "particularly in combat theaters." Advice to commanders on preventing sexual assault in their units, available on the US Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program website, warns officers to "consider the risk of sexual assault and conduct unit safety briefs during high-risk periods such as holidays and deployments."

Joanne Factor, who works with traumatized female veterans at the VA Hospital's Women's Trauma Unit, says many women return from Iraq with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from sexual assault, which she believes is becoming increasingly common. "We're seeing a lot more of it," says Factor, a self-defense instructor who has a long history of teaching women to fight back. Although a new sexual assault prevention and reporting program has been implemented by the Department of Defense, a violent subculture based on dehumanizing and brutalizing one's fellow human beings won't necessarily change just because a new policy is written.

"Sexual assault," says Rachel Graham, one of the primary organizers of the Swift Action Network, is "engrained in the dehumanizing nature of the military."

The Swift Action Network maintained a constant presence outside the Fort Lewis entrance, dubbed "Camp Suzanne," for ten days. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Day Eight of Camp Suzanne's existence, a half dozen peace activists from Olympia stood near exit 119 of I5, along with a handful of women from Code Pink Seattle. Libby Compton, dressed in bright pink socks and a fluorescent pink tank top emblazoned with the words "Code Pink, Women for Peace," said she was down for the afternoon to show her support for Suzanne Swift. Miriam Calkins of Olympia also turned out to support Swift, saying, "She's trying to do a good thing in speaking up for herself. She doesn't have freedom over her own body. She can't get out of the situation at all."

The primary demand of Suzanne Swift's supporters is an immediate honorable discharge for Suzanne Swift, so that she won't have to spend five days a week in a work environment that is unsafe and unsupportive. Second on the list is the retention of her medical benefits for life, to include counseling, so that her post-traumatic stress disorder can be effectively treated. The third demand is that the military hold the perpetrators of her assaults responsible, a demand her supporters acknowledge is less likely to be met, given the military's prior history of sweeping such matters under the rug.

Wally Cuddeford, a peace activist from Olympia, explains that he is devoting time to maintaining a presence at Camp Suzanne, not only to show support for Swift, but to put pressure on the military so it doesn't ignore her complaint. "She was sexually assaulted while trying to serve her country," says Cuddeford. "She filed a complaint through the official channels. The military seemed either unwilling or unable to do anything about it. We're here to make sure they know that her case and cases like it will not be tolerated by the public any more." Fort Lewis spokesman, Joseph Piek, however, reports that an army regulation 15-6 investigation into Suzanne Swift's complaint of sexual harassment is currently being conducted, stating that "a very thorough complaint procedure is in process."

Rachel Graham shares Cuddeford's beliefs about the military's evasion of responsibility for addressing this issue. "There'

s a real problem with prosecuting the perpetrators," says Graham. Graham explains that the epidemic of sexual harassment in the military is being largely ignored by officials, with only a miniscule percentage of allegations ultimately resulting in a court martial. According to the Department of Defense's own records, 2,374 complaints of sexual assault were filed in 2005; only 79 resulted in a court martial. Graham would like Suzanne Swift's case to be different. "The reason we're doing the camp is to call attention to the issue, because without public pressure, they won't do anything about it."

Standing at Camp Suzanne, holding a sign that directed passing motorists to an informational website, I was surprised by all the friendly honks and waves from the passersby on their way to the Fort Lewis. Camp Suzanne die-hards told me they too have been seeing an unusually positive response. "The first few days, people seemed kind of indifferent," said Wally Cuddeford, who has been present from Day One. "They seemed to think we were another anti-war protest. After a few days, the positive response really kicked in, and we're overwhelmingly supported, especially by cars coming in and out of Fort Lewis."

Graham confirms this impression. "Every once in a while we get a negative response," she says, "but overall public response has been really good. It's kind of hard to flip off an anti-rape protest."

Camp Suzanne has been discontinued, but the Swift Action Network is planning future actions in support of Suzanne and other victims of military sexual assault. For more information, email

suzanneswiftaction@yahoo.com .