'We lost our jobs for reporting being raped': Haunting photo essay depicts the suffering of women who were victims of sexual violence in the U.S. military

The Battle Within: Sexual Violence In America's Military is a photo essay by Pulitzer Prize finalist photographer Mary Calvert

An estimated 26,000 rapes and sexual assaults took place in the armed forces last year

Only one in seven victims reported their attacks, and only one in 10 of those cases went to trial

Most victims are forced out of the military after reporting the attacks and suffering from Military Sexual Trauma (MST)


Pulitzer Prize finalist photo journalist Mary Calvert is revered for putting a spotlight on humanitarian issues that are ignored or that people are not aware of.

While her work - centered on women and children in crisis - has taken her all over the world, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to India, her latest assignment is much closer to home.



The former Washington Times photographer has compiled a photo essay that attempts to expose the widespread sexual harrassment of women in the American military that is going unreported.



Calvert says that an estimated 26,000 rapes and sexual assaults took place in the armed forces last year, however only one in seven victims reported their attacks.



Heartbreaking: Melissa Bania holds a banner on the foot bridge across from the entrance to Naval Station San Diego. The sexual assault victim is part of a photo essay by Mary Calvert called The Battle Within: Sexual Violence In America's Military

Coping: Virginia Messick was raped by her drill sergeant at Lackland Air Force Base during basic training. Her rapist was convicted of raping 10 women under his command and is serving a 20 year prison sentence. She holds her old uniform at home in Marysville, California

Help: Dr Nancy Lutwak, Veteran's Administration emergency room physician in New York, opened up a room just for female vets so they could have a safe place to share their experience of being raped in the military and the health problems they face because of the assaults

Comfort: Meredith Hilderman was a Korean linguist in the US Marines and a newlywed when she was raped by a fellow Marine. Her master Sergeant told her: 'You must have wanted it. You're married and your husband isn't here.' Now out of the military, she sits at her home in her Akron, Ohio Survivor: US Army Pfc. (Private First Class) Natasha Schuette, 21, was sexually assaulted by her drill sergeant during basic training and subsequently suffered harassment by other drill sergeants after reporting the assault at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. While Staff Sgt. Louis Corral is serving just four years in prison for assaulting her and four other female trainees, Natasha suffers daily from PTSD because of the attack Getting by: Military rape survivors Jennifer Norris and Jessica Hinves smoke and discuss their assaults late into the night at Jessica's home. Jennifer Norris was drugged and raped by her recruiter after joining the US Air Force when she was 21 years old. Jessica Hinves, was an Air Force fighter jet mechanic when she was raped by a member of her squadron at Lackland Air Force Base Troubled: Jennifer Norris was drugged and raped by her recruiter after joining the US Air Force when she was 21 years old. In tech school, she fought off the sexual assault of her instructor and later evaded the advances of her commanders. She suffered a campaign of retaliation from her peers after reporting the attacks and now suffers with PTSD

Only one in 10 of those reported attacks then went to trial.



She was initially inspired by the case Jessica Hinves, an Air Force fighter jet mechanic who was raped by a member of her squadron.



'After a steady campaign of harassment and retaliation by her fellow servicemen, the case against her rapist was thrown out the day before the trial was to begin by a new commander who said, ''Though he didn’t act like a gentleman, there was no reason to prosecute'',' Calvert wrote on her website.



Hinves was discharged from the military soon after for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Calvert says that, like Hinves, most victims are forced out of the service as a result and go on to suffer the effects of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) such as depression and substance abuse.



And so she set out to meet with those victims and document their stories photographically.



The result is The Battle Within: Sexual Violence In America's Military, a stunning and heartbreaking look at how these women have been forced to live their lives.

Overcome: Suzie Champoux mourns the death of her daughter, Army Sgt. Sophie Champoux, who committed suicide under suspicious circumstances after being repeatedly raped while in the US Army. She visits her daughter's grave in Clermont, Florida

Suzie Champoux mourns the death of her daughter, Army Sgt. Sophie Champoux who committed suicide under suspicious circumstances after being repeatedly raped while in the US Army