http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2016/12/30/military-families-struggle-with-jump-in-child-abuse.html
This article discusses the case of a Army sergeant who was entered into the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) for therapy after being reported for abusing his 6-month-old son. After successfully completing the program, the sergeant was allowed to see his son again. Three months later, the child was found dead by paramedics, after suffering "blunt force injuries" and innumerable contusions of the head, torso and extremities." He was charged with two counts of injuring a child, honorably dismissed from the Army with a generous pension.
The article cited data which recorded 27 deaths in Army families due to unreported abuse. Another report cited 50 deaths in Air Force families over a five-year period. Clearly unreported abuse, even when military officials are aware of the situation, is a pervasive issue in the military community. I suspect people are afraid of reporting abuse due to not wanting to smear the reputation of Army officials, similar to rape and sexual assault cases. This approach of ignoring abuse for the sake of maintaining a public image makes the situation even more upsetting. Clearly, the FAP program is not fulfilling its purpose and other approaches need to be taken. In my opinion, this should include criminal punishment for military officials who are aware of domestic violence and child abuse taking place yet do not report it.
This article is very compelling. Research has found that child abuse in military families is more common among those in which the military member is returning from operation-related duty - in other words, active combat. With this knowledge and the resources through FAP, it surprises me that the military does not take a more prevention oriented approach to protect their reputation. When a soldier in active combat is preparing to discharge or return on leave, the military could include a packet of resources and information on trauma and risk for child maltreatment, or they could require "exit counseling" for the individual and/or their families. This would serve dual purposes of making military members aware of risk and treatment options, and to help families recognize problematic behavior in their military member before it escalates and seek help. By taking a prevention approach, the military could normalize mental health concerns and treatment-seeking behavior in its ranks, reducing stigma on its members and protecting its reputation and the family members of combatants.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rebecca's idea about applying exit counseling for soldiers and their families. I'm also surprised that there are not more preventative measures taken in the military. I think I expected that because there is often such a strong community with the military and their families, that there would be more consideration taken in providing appropriate resources.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your article and I find it to be very eye opening. I also think that these issues of not reporting the abuse has a lot to do with keeping a positive view of the branches of the military. In the end, it does not seem like the lives lost are of enough importance and it really saddens me. I do think the things that the military families are exposed to has a great impact on how the abuse comes about and that there should be more preventative measures to hopefully keep these things from happening in the first place.
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