Soldiers perpetrating or witnessing acts of humiliation: A community-based random sample study design

Where soldiering activities include administrating civilians, humiliating behaviors may become commonplace. Our goal was to assess frequency and correlates of Israeli soldiers witnessing or committing humiliating behaviors toward the civilian Palestinian population (CPP). Results indicate that among veterans, 17.4% of men and 10.2% of women (n>151) had either participated or witnessed the degradation of CPP. Posttraumatic stress, dissociation, previous aggression against CPP, combat experience against Palestinians, and current reserve duty service predicted witnessing or participation in humiliating civilians. The study questions the ability of the Israeli army to refrain from inhumane behavior against civilians and suggests means to eradicate such behaviors.