JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following the disappearance, death and dismemberment of a Fort Hood, Texas, soldier in April, a local organization was created to raise awareness about military sexual assault.
According to Our Sister’s Keeper Movement, soldier Vanessa Guillen, 20, told her family she had been sexually assaulted on base by a fellow soldier, who the army says killed himself.
A criminal complaint revealed Guillen’s body was found 20 miles from Fort Hood, chopped up by a machete and laid underneath cement.
About two dozen people met Saturday at Treaty Oak Park on Prudential Drive as Military Sexual Trauma survivors with Our Sister’s Keeper Movement shared their stories aloud -- outraged by what happened to Guillen.
“As I’m sharing to you all, it’s healing and therapeutic,” said veteran and MST survivor Honor Parrish.
Women veterans said they have decided to not be silent anymore about Military Sexual Trauma.
“I was actually raped three times in seven years,” said Katie Chorbak, founder of Our Sister’s Keeper Movement.
It happened while Chorbak was active duty Army. Following Vanessa Guillen’s death, Chorbak created Our Sister’s Keeper Movement.
“We’re out here to bring awareness. This is happening in 25 cities across the country. We’re all survivors. We’re all rape victims, and we want to protect (others),” said Chorbak.
Chorbak said 1 in 4 women are raped during their service. She said women were integrated into the military in the 40s and this has been a generational problem that the Department of Defense has ignored.
“I went through three separate sexual assaults,” said Parrish. “It took me over 20 years to say something.”
Military Sexual Trauma also affects military spouses.
“It went on for so many years,” said MST survivor Annalyn Insco.
Secretary Ryan McCarthy visited Fort Hood on Aug. 6. He said the base has one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army, adding Vanessa Guillen’s death sparked a catalyst for the Army in highlighting issues of sexual harassment and assault in the military.
McCarthy ordered an independent review of the command climate at Fort Hood following Guillen’s death.
Survivors took to social media sharing their stories with #IamVanessaGuillen.
It influenced a bill named after Guillen that congress proposed that would make sexual harassment a crime within the Uniform Code of Military Justice. It has seven key components, one of which includes that reporting would be handled outside the chain of command.
Reps. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from California, and Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma proposed the bill on Sept. 16. Speier said that 20% of military service members are female, but that women make up more than 60% of victims in military cases of assault. She said younger women of lower rank were most at risk.
“How we’re going to get it to change is to rally civilians into our cause,” said Chorbak. “Their tax money is going to this. Over $550 million a year is paid in disability payments to MST survivors.”
Chorbak said this is the “Me Too” Military movement.
Our Sister’s Keeper Movement says there are resources in the community available, including Northeast Florida Women Veterans and the Vet Center.