Listen to the video above and you will hear Fox News commentator Liz Trotta say that women in the military are complaining that they have been “raped too much.”

How much is too much? I would say once is too much.

Trotta’s remarks arose during her Feb. 12 commentary on the Pentagon’s plan to allow women to serve closer to the the front lines. Women in the military have campaigned for this change. Because of the nature of war now, women essentially are serving in combat roles without combat training and yet they are denied career advancement and better pay because they technically are not allowed to serve in combat.The Pentagon’s new rules mostly catch up to the realities of the battlefield while keeping the ban on women serving in combat in place. Advocates for women in the military had hoped for more.

Trotta went on to say that the military is now spending $113 million a year to address sexual assault in the ranks — spending she says is unwarranted because women in the military should “expect” to be raped. The U.S. military has seen at 64 percent increase in violent sexual assaults since 2006.

I can’t imagine another employer, government or private, who would tell female employees they should not expect the same safety protections and civil treatment as male employees.

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, who has authored legislation to change the way the military handles sexual assault, said, “Contrary to Trotta’s comments, being a victim of rape or sexual assault is not in the job description of a U.S. service member. It is shameful for anyone to assert that the military does not have an obligation to protect its troops and it is abhorrent that a journalist would spin the Pentagon’s statistics about rape and sexual assault in a way that suggests these crimes are normal or acceptable.”

What do you think?

To read my past posts on this topic, click here and here.