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Related: About this forumWhy rapists in military get away with it--by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)
(x-post from GD and Veterans Group)STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Jackie Speier: If you commit sexual assault in the military, you'll probably get away with it
Speier: Service members who report attack face ridicule, demotion, refusal to be heard
Sex assault scandal at Lackland base shows how trainees are preyed upon, she says
Speier wants sex assault cases tried in impartial military office to ensure justice
By Jackie Speier, Special to CNN
updated 8:19 AM EDT, Thu June 21, 2012
Editor's note: Democratic U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier represents the 12th District of California. She is also the honorary chair of Protect Our Defenders, an organization that supports women and men in uniform who have been raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members. Those who wish to share their stories can do so at Protect Our Defenders. Watch Rep. Speier talk about the issue with Carol Costello on CNN Newsroom on Thursday in the 9 a.m. hour.
(CNN) -- If you serve in the U.S. military and you rape or sexually assault a fellow service member, chances are you won't be punished. In fact, you have an estimated 86.5% chance of keeping your crime a secret and a 92% chance of avoiding a court-martial.
These disturbing statistics illustrate an ongoing epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the military that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta believes amounted to 19,000 incidents just in 2010. A culture of acceptance combined with few prosecutions against assailants and the conflicted chain of command structure discourages victims from reporting crimes.
Service members who report being sexually assaulted by a commanding officer or military colleague do so at their own peril. They face ridicule, demotion, investigation that includes a review of their sexual history and even involuntary discharge.
...
Right now, it is far too easy for a sexual predator in the military to rape or sexually assault a fellow service member and get away with it. Until these crimes are taken seriously and assailants are punished as the felons they are, the epidemic will continue.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/21/opinion/speier-military-rape/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
updated 8:19 AM EDT, Thu June 21, 2012
Editor's note: Democratic U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier represents the 12th District of California. She is also the honorary chair of Protect Our Defenders, an organization that supports women and men in uniform who have been raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members. Those who wish to share their stories can do so at Protect Our Defenders. Watch Rep. Speier talk about the issue with Carol Costello on CNN Newsroom on Thursday in the 9 a.m. hour.
(CNN) -- If you serve in the U.S. military and you rape or sexually assault a fellow service member, chances are you won't be punished. In fact, you have an estimated 86.5% chance of keeping your crime a secret and a 92% chance of avoiding a court-martial.
These disturbing statistics illustrate an ongoing epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the military that Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta believes amounted to 19,000 incidents just in 2010. A culture of acceptance combined with few prosecutions against assailants and the conflicted chain of command structure discourages victims from reporting crimes.
Service members who report being sexually assaulted by a commanding officer or military colleague do so at their own peril. They face ridicule, demotion, investigation that includes a review of their sexual history and even involuntary discharge.
...
Right now, it is far too easy for a sexual predator in the military to rape or sexually assault a fellow service member and get away with it. Until these crimes are taken seriously and assailants are punished as the felons they are, the epidemic will continue.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/21/opinion/speier-military-rape/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
Rep. Speier has authored a bill to provide a process for handling sexual abuse claims that would insulate them from command and other undue influences and ensure that they would be handled by qualified personnel with experience in dealing with these crimes. From her article published by CNN in February:
Victims of military rape deserve justice
By Jackie Speier, Special to CNN
updated 10:37 AM EST, Wed February 8, 2012
Then-Rep. Christopher Shays comforts ex-air force cadet Beth Davis after her 2006 testimony on sexual assault in the military.
...
Victims deserve an impartial investigation and the opportunity to have perpetrators tried in a military court of law. My bill, the STOP Act (H.R. 3435), takes complete authority and discretion out of the hands of commanders and gives that authority to objective experts.
The bipartisan STOP Act creates a new office of oversight and response to handle all possible cases of rape and sexual assault in the military, enabling unbiased personnel to determine the appropriate path of action for each report. The office would be housed in the Department of Defense and staffed by civilian and military experts trained to manage investigations of sexual assault.
My proposal is not unique to modern defense forces. Several of our closest allies have instituted meaningful reforms to manage cases of rape and sexual assault in their military.
The United Kingdom has largely transferred authority in military sexual assault cases to independent, impartial civilian personnel. Australia and Canada allow aggrieved service men and women to lodge complaints and access external agencies. All three countries strive to keep their internal military adjudication process independent from the influence of the military chain of command. We need to do the same.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/07/opinion/speier-military-rape/index.html
By Jackie Speier, Special to CNN
updated 10:37 AM EST, Wed February 8, 2012
Then-Rep. Christopher Shays comforts ex-air force cadet Beth Davis after her 2006 testimony on sexual assault in the military.
...
Victims deserve an impartial investigation and the opportunity to have perpetrators tried in a military court of law. My bill, the STOP Act (H.R. 3435), takes complete authority and discretion out of the hands of commanders and gives that authority to objective experts.
The bipartisan STOP Act creates a new office of oversight and response to handle all possible cases of rape and sexual assault in the military, enabling unbiased personnel to determine the appropriate path of action for each report. The office would be housed in the Department of Defense and staffed by civilian and military experts trained to manage investigations of sexual assault.
My proposal is not unique to modern defense forces. Several of our closest allies have instituted meaningful reforms to manage cases of rape and sexual assault in their military.
The United Kingdom has largely transferred authority in military sexual assault cases to independent, impartial civilian personnel. Australia and Canada allow aggrieved service men and women to lodge complaints and access external agencies. All three countries strive to keep their internal military adjudication process independent from the influence of the military chain of command. We need to do the same.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/07/opinion/speier-military-rape/index.html
FY 2010 Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military
http://www.sapr.mil/media/pdf/reports/DoD_Fiscal_Year_2010_Annual_Report_on_Sexual_Assault_in_the_Military.pdf
San Francisco Chronicle: Rapes of Women in the Military a national disgrace" by Rep. Jackie Speier
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/16/INS91J05RF.DTL#ixzz1Ju3QJb00
Website for Rep. Speier:
http://speier.house.gov/
Edited to add links to the GD and Veterans Group posts:
GD: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002839368
Veterans Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1179565
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Why rapists in military get away with it--by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) (Original Post)
pinboy3niner
Jun 2012
OP
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)1. Speier is absolutely right.
It's a national disgrace and it's also a disgrace for our armed forces.
niyad
(113,348 posts)2. every time I hear about sexual harrassment/assault in the military, I think about tailhook and how
it was handled. officers flat out stated that they would refuse to cooperate with any investigation and were not thrown out. and I think about friends who reported sexual assault, and, rather than there being an investigation, the women were thrown out of the military.
the ongoing issues at the air forces academy are, alas, nothing new, nor is the refusal to actually do anything about it.