Ethan Hanson has avoided taking showers since he left the U.S. Marine Corps in 2014. Instead, he runs an inch and a half of warm water in a bathtub, and then rinses quickly with a plastic cup, with each splash evoking a painful moan.
“Well, prior to this incident, I would take showers, said Mr. Hanson. I found them to be most efficient. When I do come into contact with steam, hot water anything that makes my skin slippery, it's back to being in that shower again. I'm feeling my genitals on other people, which honestly makes me want to vomit up every bit of bile I have, feeling other people's genitals on myself. I don't blame those who had their genitals on me. In fact, I love those guys because they went through such a hard time with me,” he said.
Mr. Hanson was part of a group of Marine recruits sexually assaulted in the showers during boot camp at Camp Pendleton, California. Like a lot of assaults on men in the military, his was a hazing exercise, meant to humiliate, shame and intimidate young troops.