Do women soldiers get more attention in the press than their male counterparts?
KO: As I mentioned before, it is telling that of the 15 British seamen captured, the media focused almost exclusively on the only woman. And even though as many men were involved in the abusive activities at Abu Ghraib prison, pictures of the women, Lynndie England and Army Spc. Sabrina Harman, circulated across the globe. Compared to Lynndie England, the so-called ringleader Charles Graner hardly got any press. Instead, the press and the public were fascinated by the smiling teenage girls giving thumbs-up over stacks of naked Iraqi men or prisoners forced to perform sexual acts. And we rarely hear about the male soldiers who abuse female prisoners, almost as if it is business as usual. We also do not hear about female soldiers who are raped and sexually abused within the military, even though recent studies have shown that the rates of such abuse are high. So, in answer to the question, yes and no: there is more media attention on women soldiers when they are violent and abusive, part
