In These Times Contributing Editor Wins National Women’s Political Caucus Award

In These Times is pleased to announce that Jessica Pupuvoc, a contributing editor of the magazine, has been recognized by the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) for her article “Silenced in the Barracks: The Pentagon Fails to Protect U.S. Troops from Sexual Abuse.” The feature story, published in In These Times’ March 2008 issue, won a 2010 Exceptional Merit in Media Award (EMMAs), given in recognition of magazine articles, books and films published or released in 2008 and 2009.

In awarding the EMMA to Pupovac, National Women’s Political Caucus judges wrote:

Author Jessica Pupovac puts a spotlight on the problem of sexual harassment and sexual assault of American military women and the failure of the Pentagon to change a culture that tolerates such abuse and even punishes the victims. While women are playing an increasingly large role in the military that often puts their lives on the line in war zones, they continue to be threatened by a “broken system” that finds a way to blame them should they complain about harassment and even assault. Using compelling firsthand accounts from victims who’ve experienced scorn on base, disciplinary actions, and even loss of benefits, the article clearly shows that Pentagon efforts to address the assault problem have fallen far short of the attention the problem deserves.

Lula Flores, president of NWPC, congratulated In These Times and Pupovac for “poignantly highlight[ing] the struggles of women in uniform, from their sexual assault to women’s battle to gain justice, honor and even safety.” The EMMAs Judges Committee was chaired by Associate Dean Arlene Morgan of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism; Ron Nessen, news executive and Journalist in Residence at the Brookings Institution; Deborah Hill, Chair of Austin Community College’s Department of Radio, Television and Film; and Pam Coulter, anchor/correspondent on National Public Radio, formerly with ABC Radio News—all award-winning in their fields and with extensive judging experience.

The other three magazine stories NWPC recognized this EMMA this year, among more than 20 submissions, were published by Ms. Magazine, Glamour and SELF.

Pupovac, whose work has also been published in Prison Legal News, the Chicago Defender, the New Standard News, the ChiTown Daily News and AlterNet, among other publications, began writing for In These Times in 2007. In 2009, she was awarded a Soros Justice Fellowship to explore the causes of America’s emerging elderly prisoner crisis and “the range of current responses to it, in an effort to inform public debate and contribute to a more humane criminal justice system.”

Read “Silenced in the Barracks” here!

—Jeremy Gantz