Daily French Roast

Anne is reading …

Stephanie Schroeder, Anna Moore, Jenny McClendon and Panayiota Bertzikis say they were raped and then discharged from the military.CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta is reporting the weekend of April 21 and 22 on allegations of increasing sexual assault in the military. Equally concerning is a pattern of storytelling that comes with allegations of sexual assault being reported. It appears that women receive a psychiatric diagnosis and military discharge.

The Pentagon estimates the actual number of military sexual assaults reported in 2011 to be about 19,000 writes CNN.

Military records show the personality disorder diagnosis is being used disproportionately on women, according to military records obtained by Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic under a Freedom of Information Act request.

—In the Army, 16% of all soldiers are women, but females constitute 24% of all personality disorder discharges.

—Air Force: women make up 21% of the ranks and 35% of personality disorder discharges.

—Navy: 17% of sailors are women and 26% of personality disorder discharges

—Marines: 7% of the Corps and 14% of personality disorder discharges

The records don’t reflect how many of those women had reported sexual assault.

Catholic Bishops Call for National Campaign for Religious Freedom New York Times

Catholic bishops called on every priest, parish and layperson to participate in a “great national campaign” to defend religious liberty, which they insist is “under attack, both at home and abroad.”

In particular they urged every diocese to hold a “Fortnight for Freedom” during the two weeks leading up to the Fourth of July, for parishioners to study, pray and take public action to fight what they see as the government’s attempts to curtail religious freedom.

New Research

Birth Contol Pills Have Lasting Effects on Relationships Scientific American

Researchers in Scotland studied more than 2.500 women in several countries and concluded that participants who used hormonal contraceptives when choosing their partners were less attracted to him and less sexually satisfied than women who did not use hormonal birth control after marrying — if they stopped taking the pill.

CNN reports that women who use triphasic birth control pills with different amounts of hormones every week report less of an impact on sex drive than monophasic pills, that dispense a constant amount.

Women who stayed on the pill after marrying reported being overall happier in their relationships with lower testosterone, and generally more faithful men.

In Child Sexual Abuse, Strangers Aren’t the Greatest Danger Science Daily

Parents typically teach kids to beware of strangers, but statistics show that the real danger to children is close to home. The vast majority of children who are sexually abused know their abuser well. Most often the abuser is a family member of trusted family friend.

More DFR

2010 teen pregnancy rates by state. Click image to enlargeClick to enlarge

Teen Pregnancy Drops Again

New statistics on teen pregnancies confirm existing trends. The number of teen births dropped again in 2010, with nearly every state seeing a decrease, writes Think Progress. Nationally, the rate fell to about 34 per 1,000 girls ages 15-19, with the drop of 9 percent seen in all racial and ethnic groups. The Center for Disease Control reports that 2010 is the lowest national rate for teen births since they began tracking it in 1940.

CDC officials attribute the decline to pregnancy prevention efforts, including improved use of contraception and in many cases, less sexual activity. Mississippi, one of the most socially conservative states in America continues to have the highest rate of teen pregnancy with 55 births per 1,000 girls. New Hampshire has the lowest rate at about 16 births per 1,000 girls.

Researchers often site a recent University of Washington in Seattle study that found teenagers who received comprehensive sex education were 60 percent less likely to get pregnant. Only social conservatives argue that abstinence education works. 37 states require sex education that includes abstinence education, with 26 states requiring that abstinence be promoted as the most effective way of reducing teen pregnancy.

Roundup

Holding Hands in Tennessee: Last week the Tennessee Senate passed SB 3310, a bill that updates the state’s abstinence-based sex education curriculum to emphasize that holding hands and kissing are “gateway sexual activities”.

Walker in Wisconsin: The governor signed three new abortion related bills. 1) abortion coverage will not be available in policies obtained through Obamacare’s new health insurance exchange starting in 2014; a woman seeking an abortion must undergo an exam and physical consultation, so that the doctor determines if woman is being pressured to have abortion. Felony for doctors who don’t complete practice; 3) updates to sex education laws stress abstinence as best policy; benefits of contraception no longer required to be taught. Changes in sex ed are a 180-degree turn from current politics.

Romney & Women: The LA Times writes that while Romney criticizes the reality that more women than men have lost jobs under the Obama administration, he ignores the fact that the job losses are coming from reduced government spending. Those cuts increase further in the Ryan budget that Romney has embraced.

White House spokesman Jay Carney noted that the Republican budget, which Romney has endorsed, would cut funding for programs that support low-income women and children, including Head Start, the Women, Infants and Children program, and supplemental nutritional aid for pregnant mothers.

Abortion & Contraception in the Crosshairs: Guttmacher Institute reviews the 944 provisions related to reproductive health and rights introduced in 45 of the 46 legislatures convened this year:

Legislators in five states (AZ, GA, NH, NJ and NY) with contraceptive coverage mandates have introduced legislation to expand existing exemptions, or create new ones, for certain employers (see Insurance Coverage of Contraceptives).