Apologia and Rape: How the U.S. Military Framed Two Cases of Sexual Assault

• In Event: Feminists Examine Violence and Heroism

Abstract

In the spring of 2014, the Pentagon released statistics showing that sexual assaults in the U.S. military were up 50 percent compared to the previous year. As new cases continue to surface, military leaders have considered how to address events that constitute a crisis in within the armed forces. This paper analyzes news articles from two cases of sexual assault in the military to understand the use of apologia in rape cases. Researchers, employing qualitative textual analysis, found that military leaders and their attorneys accused the government of making their clients a scapegoat, minimized the seriousness of the offense, charged that there were more important issues to consider than the behavior of individuals, and bolstered their clients’ reputations as good soldiers. Sexual assault was presented as as a problem for the military’s image more so than a problem for women.

Authors

• Nadine Christina Hoffmann, Marist College

• Barbara Ann Barnett, U of Kansas