DEATH BY DEHYDRATION: Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military

By Mihan Lee

It was about 2:30 in the morning. Danielle, an American soldier stationed at Camp Udairi in Iraq, left her guard post to return to her barracks after a long day. On her way back, she stepped into the women’s latrine. Seconds later she was knocked unconscious by a swift blow to the head. When she awoke, a man was raping her. Her clothes and body had been sliced with a knife, her hands and head were tied with a cord, and her underwear was stuffed in her mouth. Her shouts were muffl ed. When she began to struggle, the man on top of her threatened to cut her open and hit her between the eyes. When she regained consciousness for a second time, the man was gone. She was alone on the floor.

Her story, in one version or another, is that of many female American soldiers stationed overseas. All female soldiers know that they run a high risk of being sexually assaulted if they are ever alone after dark. At Camp Victory in Iraq, like many military camps, the latrines are located far from the female barracks, and the paths to them are unlit. Fearing to use the latrine, female soldiers have taken safety into their own hands; they refrain from drinking liquids after three or four in the afternoon, thus eliminating their need to relieve themselves at night.

On days of 120-degree heat and in facilities with no air conditioning, these actions have led to severe dehydration. They became dry-mouthed, dizzy, and lethargic; they experience convulsions; their respiratory tracts form thick secretions that suffocate their lungs; their pulse rates quicken due to decreased volume of blood until their hearts give out. Several women have died in their sleep.

Who are the men that assault and rape these female soldiers and drive them to such dangerous measures? Not terrorists or Iraqi insurgents. The enemies of these women have names and faces—and uniforms—that are all too recognizable. They are American male soldiers. So what is the U.S. government doing to address the disconnect between the nation’s mission of unity, equality, and integrity and its military’s reality of division, abuse, and injustice?

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