Mother of soldier refusing to deploy will speak at rally

Sara Rich’s daughter is facing a court-martial after refusing to deploy for a second time to Iraq because of alleged sexual harassment during her first deployment.

Suzanne Swift, an Army specialist, said she was harassed by one sergeant and coerced into being another sergeant’s sex partner.

She is charged with being absent without leave and missing a movement, and faces up to 12 months of confinement. A date for the special court-martial hasn’t been set.

Rich will be the featured speaker Saturday at a Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane peace rally in Franklin Park. She lives in Eugene, Ore. Swift is now at Fort Lewis, Wash., working as a military police officer until her court-martial.

“I was lucky. At least she came back from Iraq, but the things she had to suffer and the things she had to endure kicked me into action,” said Rich, who has been taking her daughter’s story to people across the country.

Swift told her mother what was happening while she was deployed, but said she was afraid to say anything to her superiors. At the time, Rich felt helpless.

“If I had done anything while she was there, it would have put her in greater danger,” said Rich. “She would have been treated like a traitor.”

As it was, Swift said, she suffered humiliation and punishment from the sergeant when she broke off their sexual relationship.

An Army investigation into Swift’s allegations substantiated her complaint about sexual harassment at Fort Lewis, officials there said, but not the things she said happened in Iraq.

So when Swift said she couldn’t return to Iraq, Rich supported the decision even though she feared what might happen to her daughter.

Roger Kaplan, spokesman for the Pentagon’s Joint Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, said Thursday he couldn’t answer questions about how the military is combating sexual assault without getting approval from the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s public affairs.

Questions to that office Thursday were not answered.

“It doesn’t seem that it is happening more in the military than it is in civilian jobs for women of the same age,” said Lory Manning, director of Women’s Research and Education Institute’s Women in Military Project in Arlington, Va. “The one kicker, particularly if you’re deployed, is you can’t get away from it.”

But, Manning said, troops have access to chaplains and other professionals who can help them if they are being harassed or have been assaulted.

The military has changed some policies to assist victims of sexual assault, but there’s a long way to go, said Anita Sanchez, spokeswoman for the Miles Foundation, a Connecticut-based, national nonprofit group dedicated to helping victims of military violence.

“Your chances of prosecution are greater in the civilian community than they are in the military community,” said Sanchez. That’s because commanders determine disciplinary action, which can range from reprimands to discharge or court-martial.

In 2005, the military received 2,374 reports of sexual assault involving its members. Of those, 327 are restricted reports in which the victim doesn’t want an investigation.

Of the remaining reports, 274 of the alleged offenders were disciplined as of Dec. 31, 2005. Of those, 79 were court-martialed.

In this case, it’s Swift facing the court-martial, not an alleged abuser.

Rich said she can’t talk about their legal strategy, but she does serve as her daughter’s emotional support and spokesperson.

“She’s given five interviews, and that was really stressful for her. She doesn’t like remembering it or talking about it,” said Rich. “She’d just as soon I be the one talking to the media.”

She’s also been contacted by hundreds of others who have been assaulted in the military or have family members who have suffered from military sexual harassment.

“It really shocked me. I had no idea how pervasive military sexual violence is,” said Rich. “I’m hoping for some long-term better treatment of victims of sexual crimes in the military.”