On Thursday, President Obama signed a bill pushing back on
the ever-growing numbers of rape and assault victims in
America's armed forces.
Under the new defense bill, military commanders can no longer
overturn jury convictions for sexual assault, reports The
Associated Press, and that's not all.
It also requires a civilian review if a commander declines
to prosecute a case and requires that any individual
convicted of sexual assault face a dishonorable discharge
or dismissal.
Defense officials beat back efforts to more drastically
revamp the military justice system that would take
authority away from commanders and allow victims of
rape and sexual assault to go outside the chain of
command for prosecutions.
In 2013, the reported number of assaults in the military
increased by 50 percent. This might be because more victims felt
comfortable coming forward, a good thing because more stories
were shared and more soldiers were able to recognize sexual
assault and harassment in action. That wasn't the case before,
when many victims felt they would receive negative treatment
from their ranking officers and co-workers if they reported
their own, or someone else's, abuse.
Still, the military has much more work to do in cleaning up its
ranks. Programs like "If you see something, say something" have
been instituted for soldiers and some branches have restricted
alcohol sales to prevent sexual assault and harassment. Others
have also publicized the court martials of those charged with
sexual assault so their peers can see the results of their actions.
"We're still not where we want things to be," said Col.
Alan R. Metzler, deputy director of the Pentagon's sexual
assault prevention and response office. "But we think all
of this is having an effect."
the ever-growing numbers of rape and assault victims in
America's armed forces.
Under the new defense bill, military commanders can no longer
overturn jury convictions for sexual assault, reports The
Associated Press, and that's not all.
It also requires a civilian review if a commander declines
to prosecute a case and requires that any individual
convicted of sexual assault face a dishonorable discharge
or dismissal.
Defense officials beat back efforts to more drastically
revamp the military justice system that would take
authority away from commanders and allow victims of
rape and sexual assault to go outside the chain of
command for prosecutions.
In 2013, the reported number of assaults in the military
increased by 50 percent. This might be because more victims felt
comfortable coming forward, a good thing because more stories
were shared and more soldiers were able to recognize sexual
assault and harassment in action. That wasn't the case before,
when many victims felt they would receive negative treatment
from their ranking officers and co-workers if they reported
their own, or someone else's, abuse.
Still, the military has much more work to do in cleaning up its
ranks. Programs like "If you see something, say something" have
been instituted for soldiers and some branches have restricted
alcohol sales to prevent sexual assault and harassment. Others
have also publicized the court martials of those charged with
sexual assault so their peers can see the results of their actions.
"We're still not where we want things to be," said Col.
Alan R. Metzler, deputy director of the Pentagon's sexual
assault prevention and response office. "But we think all
of this is having an effect."
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