US military must do a better job prosecuting sexual assault cases
The Military Justice Improvement Act is getting old. For the fifth year in a row, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has dusted it off and introduced it for a vote. But, the New York senator has yet to see the bill pass the Senate. Last year, it was pulled out of the national defense budget without an ounce of debate.
This time, Congress needs to make it happen.
Gillibrand has been leading the charge against sexual assault in America – on college campuses, in the workplace, and in the military – long before the issue exploded into what now feels like a daily roll call of creeps who should have known better. Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Ben Affleck, George H.W. Bush, Kevin Spacey, Michael Oreskes, Roy Moore, Louis C.K., Al Franken, Charlie Rose. In addition to these men, more than a dozen other, lesser known names are on a list being kept by USA Today. By the time this editorial publishes, we suspect that list will have grown.
But, we must remember that you don’t have to be rich, powerful or famous to sexually assault someone. In fact, these Hollywood types, politicians and business leaders who are facing allegations or have recently confessed to wrongdoing make up a miniscule fraction of a fraction of those who commit these crimes. The overwhelming majority of people who commit sexual assault do not make headlines, and may only be known to their victims.
Gillibrand has been targeting these perpetrators since she first landed in Washington, D.C. The Military Justice Improvement Act is among the proposals she has made to try to raise awareness, make it easier to report and investigate alleged crimes, and make sure that justice is served.
MORE: Gillibrand says Bill Clinton should have resigned
In the last four years alone, the Pentagon has documented hundreds sexual assault and harassment, against generals, admirals and senior civilians. Last year, the Department of Defense announced a record number of sexual assaults reported against service members, and the lowest conviction rate. More than half of military sexual assault survivors say they've suffered retaliation for reporting the crime.
“Congress should finally be out of excuses to continue the status quo that harms our service members and protects predators,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “How much longer do we need to wait for Congress to do the right thing…?”
She’s right. There are no acceptable excuses for allowing the system to remain the same. The Military Justice Improvement Act would give independent, trained military prosecutors authority over serious alleged crimes. Right now, military officers within the alleged victim’s chain of command decide whether to prosecute the accused. That discourages victims from reporting sexual assault, particularly when the attacker is one of the victim’s supervisors. The absurdity of this would be laughable if it was not such a serious matter.
There is some bipartisan support for the bill. It should be unanimous.