Pentagon Report Shows Continued Scourge of Military Sexual Assault (FIFTY A DAY!!!!!)

Pentagon Report Shows Continued Scourge of Military Sexual Assault




The Pentagon released new data last week on sexual assault in the military, showing a continued need for reform of the military justice system to help combat an epidemic that has gone virtually unabated over the past year. According to the the Pentagon report, prepared using data collected by the Rand Corporation, there were about 19,000 cases of sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact last year – over 50 cases a day. That number is less than the 26,000 cases in 2012, but still unacceptably high, especially since only one in four victims will report their assaults.

Of those who do report, nearly two-thirds reported that they faced retaliation. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) called this figure a “screaming red flag,” and released a renewed call to action in support of the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA). The bi-partisan bill received 55 votes in the Senate earlier this year, but not enough to defeat a filibuster. Gillibrand is now calling for a new vote on MJIA – either as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act or a as a stand alone bill.

The MJIA would move the decision to prosecute military sexual assault outside the chain of command and give it to trained, independent professional military prosecutors. The bill would apply to all crimes punishable by one or more years in confinement, and would exclude crimes that are uniquely military, such as disobeying orders or going Absent Without Leave.
“There is no other mission in the world for our military where this much failure would be allowed,” said Senator Gillibrand in response to the Pentagon report. “Enough is enough, last December the President said he would give the military and previous reforms a year to work and it is clear they have failed in their mission.”

The need for reform was summed up by Col. Don Christensen (Ret.), former Chief Prosecutor for the Air Force. “The rapist' boss should not determine the fate of a victim’s case,” he said.

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http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2014/12/08/pentagon-report-shows-continued-scourge-of-military-sexual-assault/