Triple the number in october. Kathleen sebelius is calling fon an investigation into the troubled rollout of the website. For a second straight day a funeral possession for a former South African president will travel through the streets. The public will pay tribute. Nelson mandela will be buried in his childhood home of kuehne your. Those are the headlines. You can get the latest news on aljazeera. Com. Behind the violence. And an unlikely voice helping the women of afghanistan be heard. She needs to know that shes the only female in afghanistan ever that has ever appealed a case. Good evening. Thanks for being with us. Im joie chen. Sexual assaults in the military, in recent months more women survivors have come forward, and lawmakers begin to grapple with providing more support for them. There has been much silence on the number of Sexual Assaults against men in the military, and as it turns out, they, too, have come forward, and the pentagon has acknowledged it is a problem which deserves attention. It is far more common than you might have thought. America tonight found out that many survivors struggle to recover even years after their assaults. Her investigation led her to meet a number of of these men and have them tell their stories publicly for the first time. We have a warning to our viewers that some of the material in her report is graphic and quite disturbing. Reporter its along the serene Rio Grande River that runs through albuquerque, new mexico where mike scott feels most at peace. Why do you come to this forest here . Its a place to reflect, and its a place to escape my anxious little world for 15 minutes or an hour. Debilitating memories of his time in the military still haunt him more than a decade after his Honorable Discharge from the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States army. Mike never served in combat, but hes been fighting an internal war for years. You get better for a while and crash back down. Its endless. Mike says another soldier sexually assaulted him in 1998. He didnt report the incident because he was too afraid to speak up. I thought god would protect me. God didnt protect me. And thats the toughest betrayal of all. I also feel betrayed by the government and the military. There are nearly six times more men than women in the military, and females are more likely to be targeted. But according to a 2012 department of defense survey, approximately 14,000 active Duty Service Men said they faced unwanted sexual contact in the last year compared to 12,000 women. This is the first time mike is speaking publicly about his assault and sharing his medical records. They show he suffered from nightmares, flashbacks, alcohol abuse and angry outbursts, the assault pushed him to the brink. I ended up binge drinking a lot and ended up three times with my. 22 rifle in my mouth drunk. The last time i was putting pressure on the trigger. Why do you think it took you that long to find a way to bring this out and bring this up . I blamed myself until i felt i went i felt i let down god and my country. I felt that i was weak, and that it was my fault. The hardest thing for me right now is getting out of the house, you know. He stayed silent for 15 years. Six men raped me when i was in active duty. I was sodomized and penetrated. I did not report my rape. I was protecting my career. He came to this country from the philippines in 1989 and almost immediately enlisted in the u. S. Marines. He was stationed at camp lejeune, North Carolina when he says a group from his own platoon raped him. After i was raped, i went back to my barracks and took a long shower. I was crying. I was bleeding physically from behind. I didnt tell anybody. I just reported back to work like nothing had happened. I worried about being labeled as a homosexual. A 2012 Defense Department survey found 81 of male victims never reported their incident to a military authority. Michael matthews and his wife, jeri lynn wine Stein Matthews are advocates trying to change that. He was assaulted in the air force when he was 19. They said the issue has been overlooked by the military for too long. Im ashamed were talking to victims for the last 40 years and having hearings and nothing has been done. Its affecting the National Defense of our country. Its an issue of human rights. Its not an issue of gender or sexuality. Its a secret kept down for quite a while, and were as sick as our secrets. Our armed forces are a system that needs to look at this. Its a blight. The two produced a documentary called justice denied to raise awareness what they call military sexual trauma or mst. In the film michael reveals his own experience. When i came to, i was being held down by two individuals, and someone was pulling my pants down and i was raped, sodomized. Its funny, because i thought i was going to die. I figured they were going to kill me. Before you entered the military, did you ever think that you could become a victim of Sexual Assault . No, absolutely not. Men are supposed to be strong. Theyre supposed to be the protectors. Theyre not supposed to be the ones getting raped. Michael was married for 20 years before he told his wife about the incident. I felt relieved, because for a long time i thought there were intimacy issues we were having. I just listened and assured him that we would get through this. Geri lynn helped michael when his mental anguish became overwhelming. He says he tried to kill himself seven times. You came in here . Yeah, i sat in that car. You planned to kill yourself in the garage . Yeah. I got in the car and turned it on. A moment of sanity saved me. I could have took it to he stopped himself before the Carbon Monoxide could take his life. He says he believes hes still alive today because he has a higher purpose, to help people like javier and mike scott. The men marched together during albuquerques 2013 veterans day parade. They carried a banner to raise awareness about male survivors of Sexual Assault in the military. Hey, thank you. This is a banner that represents something that is something ive been ashamed about for many years. Its my commitment to stand up. Stand up and shed light on one of the darkest parts of their lives. After the break on america tonight, course we go inside the effort to heal. Why do you think it took you that long to find a way to bring this up. . I felt i let down god, my country, myself. That i was weak and that it was my fault. America tonights exclusive access to the therapy helping survivors on their journey. [[voiceover]] no doubt about it, innovation changes our lives. Opening doors. Opening possibilities. Taking the impossible from lab. To life. On techknow, our scientists bring you a sneakpeak of the future, and take you behind the scenes at our evolving world. Techknow ideas, invention, life. Have been telling you in the san joaquim river, freeze warnings in effect. Never seen too much in terms of rain. Los angeles, you are going to be seeing some beautiful weather all the way to sunday even into the low 70 did or high 60s, partly cloudy conditions, overnight, about 44 degrees. Texas also dry for you as well. We saw rain showers and a mix of precip just a little bit up here towards the north. Temperatures for dallas at about 42. San antonio at 55. For houston, well, you are going to be seeing rain by the time we end the week. 59 degrees there. That will will last one day. Your weekend should look better with a high of 63. Over here towards the southeast, some rain showers pushing through orlando right now. Atlanta is going to be about 56. An American Auto maker making history. The newer ground general motor is making as it names its latest ceo. Every morning from 5 to 9am Al Jazeera America brings you more us and global news than any other American News channel. Find out what happened and what to expect. Start every morning, every day, 5am to 9 eastern with Al Jazeera America. Al Jazeera America is growing and now more americans are getting the high quality, original, indepth reporting Al Jazeera America is known for. To find out more about Al Jazeera America go to aljazeera. Com welcome back. We now continue our reporting about the overlooked victims of Sexual Assault in the military, the male Service Members. According to the pentagon almost 14,000 men say that they have been abused sexually or harassed. But as we heard earlier, many survivors keep their assaults secret for decades and face years upon years of emotional distress. Military leaders have made some strides in addressing the issue, but there are still no specific programs for men. In the second part of her exclusive report, america tonigh tonights Lori Jane Gliha goes inside the first Veterans AffairsMedical Center to open its doors to male survivors of Sexual Assault. Just beyond the calming waves off the coast of tampa, florida is the first veterans facility to address the issue of male Sexual Assault. If youre dwelling on whats going on in your own head, its hard to relate to someone else or have them relate to you, right . The men and women in this classroom at the bay pines v. A. Health care system are all survivors of military sexual trauma. By identifying your inner personal values, we start where we think we have hangups. This is the first time a Television Crew has been given access to a counseling session here. Sometimes, you know, the relationship with my myself is hard. Participants receive treatment individually and as a group in a residential setting. They share the room with some private space created by the dividers. In the year 2000 dr. Carol obrien developed what is now a 16bed treatment facility, originally the program was only available to female Sexual Assault victims. What was your reaction when you heard that men were coming forward and saying it happened to them . I was like most people, kind of surprised by that. I really wanted to hear more. In 2003 the facility opened its doors to men. What did you learn from the men that joined your program . We learned that it takes a lot in order for a man to be willing to report the amount of shame or fear about the reaction of others is pretty profound. Men are often worried that if they were sexually assaulted by another man and theyre married, if they tell their wife, their wife will say you must be gay. I never talked about it with anyone until i checked into the v. A. The day i checked into the v. A. , i broke down and cried. Many of obriens patients are like this man dealing with very old wounds. He has received weeks of therapy after waiting 50 years to tell anyone about his assault. I was reclusive. Id been married three times. I was becoming more and more a hermit because i couldnt get my mind away from the event and the person. How difficult is it to treat somebody thats coming forward so much later on in life . When someone tries to get through their life with a kind of burden that you carry with ptsd and a history of Sexual Assault that theres collateral damage, if you will. Things like failed marriages, failed relationships, substance abuse. Those build over the years. Many Service Members blame the macho culture of the military for preventing them from coming forward. Mike scott says the culture still exists today. I think there are a lot of people in the military who think it is good to have rapists in the ranks, to have people without empathy in the ranks because they think that means that makes the military tough. Mike says the military needs to undergo dramatic changes to prevent future assaults. This is one of the only pictures. I threw almost everything away. Right now hes undergoing his own transformation with the help of Counseling Services at the albuquerque v. A. He knows the road to wellness will be a challenge, but hes prepared to make the journey, however long it takes. I want to come out of my shell, and i think that will leave me to be able to have a somewhat normal life. We asked the department of defense for an interview with the head of the Sexual Assault prevention response office. We wanted them to react to mike scotts allegations about rapists within the ranks, and they sent this statement. They say we categorically reject this viewpoint. Secretary hagel is very clear. We must have a culture in the military where Sexual Harassment and assault are not tolerated, condoned or ignored. Sexual assault has been front and center for dod in recent months, the topic of hearings and discussions. One of the main complaints from male victims is how slow the process is to acknowledge this issue affects more than one gender. When you hear all these reports coming in, what has the military done so far . The military has a Sexual AssaultPrevention Office and one goal was to promote initiatives that address the needs of male victims. One of the things they did is added information to a 24hour seven day a week hot line for rape survivors. They also say they reached out to organizations that support male survivors for some guidance on what to do when they come up with future strategies. Then they said their focus for the next couple of months is really going to be on some of the these male victims to figure out where theyre coming from and why theyre reluctant to report and what kind of support they need. We saw the one clinic at the Veterans Affairs hospital you were at. Are there other programs like this for men . There are a lot of programs for ptsd and military sexual trauma, but one thing from the men is they have a hard time figuring out which program is tailored specifically for men victims of military sexual trauma. We had trouble from the v. A. Getting a straight answer how many facilities are specifically designed to help men in this way. One thing we learned from dr. Obrien from the bay pines facility is her facility is not enough to address the demand and need from the men. She even testified in front a Congressional Committee this summer about the issue. Even then some of the men have said they dont feel comfortable going to a facility like hers because its mixed gender and they want a facility just specifically for men. There has been a lot of progress made, but clearly, still a long way to go, joie. Lori jane gliha. Thanks very much. We turn now to susan burke who is an attorney that has worked extensively with survivors of Sexual Assault. I wonder if you can talk to us a little bit about what youve experienced and heard from survivors as theyve come to you as they try to help you. Its hard, because we started to hear about women coming forward. Why is it so much more difficult for men . What we have found and in the people i represent i do have many male survivors as clients. What they tell me is that the difficulty, the hurdles they have to overcome in order to report are tremendous. We as a society really want to close our eyes to the fact that theres a significant amount of rape of males in the military. For men, who are raised with this in this military culture, its like such a shame, such a blow to have to come forward and report that youve been victimized. So as hard as it is for the women, its even harder for the men to come forward and report. There are certainly environments within the military that might restrict. For example, we talk about dont ask dont tell and policies that have been in place against homosexuals reporting. How does that contribute . That has actually contributed a lot. In fact, prior to the abolition of that, when you came forward and reported, if you were a male and you came forward and reported you had been raped by another male, you could be discharged under that policy. We have had people come to us. They were discharged after reporting being victimized. Men who have been victimized by other men . Correct. Came forward to report that they were victims of Sexual Violence . Right. In the instance, the commander said, all right, you must be homosexual and theyre your dishonorably discharged. He was not a homosexual, but regardless, rape is about power, violence and control. But the men are even more they were even more at risk for coming forward to report. You have also worked with legislative efforts to deal with this issue. We have. We are strong supporters of the effort by senator jill bragillibrand and others. As it is now it has a critical flaw. It allows a biased commander to have judging power, aadjudicatory power. The legislation pending is to take that adjudicatory power out of the war fighters and put it in the hands of lawyers and Law Enforcement within the military. Are there other things that can be done to support these men, to get them to come forward to try to get a handle on the problem . Well, the reality of todays military is that if you come forward and report, youre going to be branded a troublemaker. You put your career on the line. So it is a very difficult choice for people to make. We cannot in good faith, those of us who help survivors, we cannot in good faith encourage reporting until we have ensured that the reports are handled appropriately and that the predators are prosecuted and put in jail. So youve got to fix the judicial system before youre going to see any kind of uptick in the amount of reporting. Susan burke, an attorney that works with survivors. We appreciate you being here. Thank you for having me on. When we return, a final farewell. South africans remember tata, the father of their nation. Also a