A doctorate student in Public Health at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is seeking help from the veteran population. She has spent the past two years at the university examining childhood and adult sexual violence. Her research study is entitled, "Exploration of Rape Myths Among Former Military Personnel" and she is focusing on beliefs surrounding rape myths. She has nearly 17 years of active duty service, had deployed in support of OEF and OIF, and served initially as an enlisted Service Member and now as an officer.
Many people are not aware that 1 in 6 males under the age of 18 years old has experienced sexual violence, and that 1 in 4 females experience sexual violence, and that every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted (DOJ, 2015; RAINN, 2016). Sexual violence has been shown to impact the long-term health of survivors in the military and in the civilian sector (CDC, 2016). am hoping to gain your thoughts regarding current rape myths. The purpose of this project is to raise awareness, reduce
This will be very helpful research and she is hoping to gain your thoughts regarding current rape myths. The purpose of this project is to raise awareness, reduce the stigma associated with sexual violence, dispel false rape myths by enhancing knowledge, and improve the health status of sexual violence survivors.
This is a brief survey of former active duty Service Members/Veterans. The survey is short (less than 10 minutes), voluntary, anonymous, and approved by the ETSU Institutional Review Board. There are 20 Yes/No or Agree/Disagree questions regarding rape myths and gender attitudes. Honest and candid answers are critical to understanding current beliefs. Click on the following link to view the consent document and then please begin the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/rapemyths2017
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If completing this survey raises any concerns for you, contact the Veteran's Crisis Line at 1 800.273.8255 and press 1, the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE to have a confidential chat, or communicate with another source that you feel comfortable speaking to. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to contact me at caldara@etsu.edu.
Thank you for your time. Your help is greatly appreciated to better understand sexual violence and is instrumental in developing ways to assist current and future military Veterans. Please forward this message to any former military professionals you may know; I am trying to reach Veterans throughout America.
Very Respectfully,
Gabrielle Caldara,
Author of the survey
References:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2016). Sexual violence: Consequences. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention /sexualviolence/consequences.html
Department of Justice (DOJ). (2015). National Crime Victimization Survey, 2010-2014. Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). (2016). Victims of sexual violence statistics. Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence.
