Ethical Issues Of Sexual Harassment In The Military

William Bainbridge Ethics Paper

Abstract: This brief but informative paper will cover the ethical aspects and implications of sexual harassment in the Military. Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination and often displayed in the form of unwanted attention or unwanted sexual advances or unwanted sexual actions. Specifically, this paper will focus intently on sexual harassment in the Army and the problems that entails. The ethical problems regarding sexual harassment are significant because of the unique environment that the Army conducts its self. Notably statistical reporting data for sexual harassment is seemingly rising according to new data. The Army has policies and procedures in place for reporting sexual harassment. In addition,

The Army is facing a significant problem in sexual harassment the problem hurts the Army’s ability to remain an ethical organization while hindering their readiness.
This paper will look at several points relating to the above thesis. First, the paper will look at what sexual harassment looks like in the Army. Second, current policies and procedures the Army is using examined. Following this, the paper will move too examining statistics concerning sexual harassment reporting. Next, the question of why this is such a large problem for the Army will be answered. Lastly, the summary of why sexual harassment is unethical and continues to hurt the Army’s overall readiness. Sexual Harassment Defined
The Army’s sexual harassment and assault response and prevention organization defines sexual harassment as, “Sexual harassment is a form of gender discrimination that involves unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature between the same or opposite genders.” (Sexual Harassment Assault response and prevention, spring 2015) This definition shows that the Army is willing to cast a broad net. This presumably done to allow for the capturing of as many cases as

Another aspect to look at is the moral of the unit. Moral of soldiers must be intact to hold soldiers together in the harsh environments they may face. Soldiers are often asked to work for long hours in difficult situations. They are asked to deploy to foreign countries far from home and perform tasks many choose not to do. For a soldier and further a unit to succeed in these tasks their moral must remain high. Sexual harassment destroys moral in soldiers and builds disbelief in the Army.
Sexual harassment in the Army is unethical for two major reasons. The first of which is it is an act that leaves soldiers feeling uncomfortable and invaluable. In addition it is also illegal and against UCMJ laws and regulations. Sexual harassment is also morally unjust and against the soldiers creed. The following exerts from the creed read, “I am a warrior and a member of a team”, “I am an expert and I am a professional.”, “I serve the American people and live the Army values” (US Army, 2015). The Army’s position requires it to remain an ever-ready responsive force. A force that must be able to deploy and be effective in any environment. An ineffective Army is not bearing allegiance to the country and people it has sworn to