Taya Kyle, widow of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle,
IN PHOTO: Taya Kyle, widow of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, stands in the courtroom during a break in the capital murder trial of former Marine Corporal Eddie Ray Routh at the Erath County, Donald R. Jones Justice Center in Stephenville, Texas February 18, 2015. Prosecutors finished calling witnesses on Tuesday in the murder trial of Routh, who is charged with fatally shooting Chris Kyle, the former U.S. Navy SEAL whose autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper." Over several days of witnesses' testimony, prosecutors reconstructed the day two years ago when they say Routh, 27, killed Kyle and Kyle's friend Chad Littlefield at a gun range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth, stole Kyle's pickup truck and was taken into custody following a high-speed car chase. Routh's lawyers have not contested accusations that Routh fired the fatal shots. They have contended he was psychotic and did not realize what he was doing. Reuters/Mike Stone

Victims of sexual harassment in the U.S. military will face more trouble if they dare to report the matter and the perpetrators go scot free, says a recent report by Human Rights Watch.

Though the U.S. Defense Department has launched extensive reforms to address the issue of sexual assault within the military, the study shows the problem is still acute, reports The Independent. According to the report, both male and female military members who complain about sexual assault are 12 times more vulnerable to retaliation than seeing the attacker getting a conviction. The retaliation will haunt the victims by way of threats, vandalism, harassment, denial of promotion opportunities, disciplinary action that may even include criminal charges. “The goal of this report is to make sure that service members can come forward and seek justice for rape without jeopardizing their safety or career,” noted Meghan Rhoad, co-author of the report.

Tackle Retaliation

The survey showed that 62 percent of those who reported sexual assault faced retaliation. Noting that when no one is held accountable for retaliation it breeds a hostile environment for all survivors, Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders and former chief prosecutor of the U.S. Air Force, said the message to criminals seems to be “they can act with impunity.”

“The US military’s progress in getting people to report sexual assaults isn’t going to continue as long as retaliation for making a report goes unpunished,” said Sara Darehshori, senior US counsel at Human Rights Watch. She observed that ending retaliation is critical to ending the menace of sexual assault in the military.

Victim Speaks Out

Meanwhile, the Guardian carried a report, quoting a victim of rape in the U.S Navy, who had to end her career prematurely within three years of joining it. Samantha Jarrett reported rape and had to end her career in the Navy at the age of 22 after joining it at 19. Jarrett was medically discharged in August 2014 on the grounds of depression and chronic insomnia. In the HRW report, her experiences are given under a pseudonym. But Jarrett decided to come out in the open and told the Guardian that she is not ashamed of speaking out the truth. “I’ve been quiet about this long enough,” she said.

Samantha is bitter that the military was not fair to her and could have taken simplistic steps to protect her after being raped. Rather, Samantha alleges that she was exposed and humiliated. However, the Defense Department did not make any comment on the report, despite calls and emails from the media.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)

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