‘Masturbated on, cat calls, whistles’: Coast Guard women describe systemic abuse
In the aftermath of a McClatchy-Miami Herald series titled “Silenced No More,” which examined sex harassment in the Coast Guard and lack of redress for victims, more than 70 current and former members of the the Coast Guard reached out in an online survey and by email to tell their stories.
One that stood out came from a 23-year-old woman from North Carolina who enlisted right out of high school at 18 but called it quits in 2019 after just four years, chased out, she said, by constant sexual harassment.
“It’s a once-a-week thing if you are a female in the service,” she said in a series of interviews.
Her story is unusual because it involves alleged groping by a male superior when she entered the service, unaware that she was gay, and an alleged assault later by a female superior who knew of her sexual orientation.
“It was constant sexual harassment,” she said, noting her complaints were not kept confidential. “It ruins your career … that was bull[expletive] because everybody on the base started to find out. People started to treat me differently.”
Like her, most who reached out asked that their name not appear. Some because they are still in the service; others because they now interact with the Coast Guard as contractors. Nearly all, however, indicated that the examples highlighted in the series were not isolated events but pervasive.
What follows is a sampling of what these individuals alleged, spanning the last five decades. If a specific person was accused, the name was removed but otherwise these are their unedited accounts.
1970s
▪ Scrubbing men’s urinals with my toothbrush, being awakened after night shift because the tire on my car was barely touching the edge of the parking space line, being told by my LT [lieutenant] not to bend over in the bullpen because the men stared at my ass and made him jealous. This same LT removing my [only my] cubicle wall so he could stare at me, telling my XO [executive officer] and having him say it was all my word against his. Having a Jr male officer put in charge of me when I clearly had more time and experience than him.”
▪ “Despite it happening so long ago (‘77-‘83) this newest story brings it all right back up. Nothing seems to have changed. Breasts groped during boot camp co uniform inspections, enlisted men invited in during my required annual PAP smear vaginal exam while stationed in Yorktown. I was told he needed to learn how to do a PAP smear because he was being stationed at a remote LORAN & would perform them there. Constant sexual harassment that forced me out after 2 yrs active & 4 reserve. All women were harassed and one in particular was sexually used almost nightly throughout boot camp. Poor kid; she was a wreck after that.”
1980s
▪ “As one of two female officers stationed aboard the CGC BEAR, I was raped by a fellow officer and had multiple rumors spread about me, claiming I was sleeping with various ships’ crew members. I transferred to the DALLAS, where there were rumors that I was sleeping with male and female shipmates, which started an investigation. I was sexually assaulted twice, but when I reported them, they were swept under the rug.”
▪ “Supervisors wanted me to have sex with them in exchange for advancement.” (Neah Bay, Washington, 1987)
1990s
▪ Boot camp in Cape May. [Name withheld] repeatedly came into our barracks after our showers and made us do mountain climbers and burpees to look down our shirts. Some nights we spent them in his office doing mountain climbers in our white T-shirt’s and shorts with no bra. It was always two females he would select. I think I was picked 3 times. There was a blond he picked all of time and she ended up dropping out during training. Myself and another female went to a female officer … and reported the incidents. She told us there was nothing she could do and escorted us out.
▪ Stationed in Seattle on CGC [Coast Guard Cutter] Mellon. Several incidents. Groped in a passageway late at night while doing my rounds by a FT1 [fire technician]. I knocked him down the stairs and ran. Taking garbage out through the flight deck one evening and an engineer MK1 [machinery technician] grabbed my crotch when I had both hands full of garbage. I smashed both bags at his head and let him take the garbage out. … I loved the coast guard. The old dogs didn’t care for women and that’s ok. 4 years was enough and I decided to get out.”
▪ Sexual harassment began at my first duty station: Station Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco, Washington. March 1990. I was sexually harassed, sexually assaulted and retaliated against after trying to stop some of the harassment. I was the only female there for the first 6 mos. Many of the men told me directly that they were not happy I was there and that being around a woman meant they had to watch how they behaved, and they weren’t going to do that. They said if I ‘couldn’t take a joke’ life was going to be hard. They made it hard anyway.”
2000 to present
▪ “Harassment, retaliation, forced to retire... and that’s just the last unit. I served 22 years. This is just a quick note … there are so many of us out here that won’t share — but our online women’s group — with Sarah [Sara Faulkner] and Kim [Young] McLear have had so many come forward.”
▪ “Pushed to the ground, masturbated on. cat calls, whistles, refused permission to attend scheduled doctors appt, lower evaluation because I would not drink with the Chief. Countless inappropriate comments based upon gender. Countless sexual advances.”
▪ “I was repeatedly verbally harassed by a male in A school [specialized training] who said lewd and unwarranted things to me, with multiple witnesses. One time even cornering me against my door to make a sexual threat. There was an investigation, and they ended up telling me my claim was unsubstantiated. I felt like I was the one on trial the whole time. I wish I could give more details, but I can’t risk getting in trouble for sharing the explicit details of my story. I felt like the command didn’t want the drama, they mostly quoted policy at me and swept it under the rug and gave me a phone number for CG Support [free off record counseling].”
▪ “Thank you so much for your reporting. The CG tries to isolate survivors and having so many brave people come forward and brave reporters help tell their stories is helping in my own healing. The more I am able to have evidence that I am not alone and that the trauma was not my fault, the more I can heal. Thank you so much. To answer the question, Yes I have been a victim of sexual assault, harassment, physical assault, bullying, and retaliation. I have finally received the mental healthcare I need and was quickly diagnosed with PTSD and alcohol abuse. I am finally leaving the CG through a medical board process and therefore I don’t feel safe enough yet to tell my story, but I feel it’s important to make sure no one else feels alone and knows there are so many of us survivors out here, and also to give you accurate information about the numbers to show how important your reporting is.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 7:30 AM.
