A group of women senators is leading a bipartisan effort to reform the way the military deals with sexual assaults. The women spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday, unified in support of reforms, yet divided over a central key issue.
The division is over two pos- sible directions: in one, the military chain of command would reform its culture and continue to handle cases, and in the other, an independent system would be established to decide whether alleged crimes move forward to trial.
The latter approach, lead by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Armed Services personnel subcommittee, has the support of at least 50 senators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and nine Republicans, and 30 women’s groups. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a former courtroom prosecutor of sex crimes, is leading those in favor of allowing the military to resolve its own issues, albeit with significant added protections for victims.
Reid is expected to schedule a vote on the sexual assault amendment, which is part of the National Defense Authorization Act before Friday and a Thanksgiving recess.
Culture of Impunity
The issue erupted this summer after a Pentagon report revealed a sharp 36 percent increase in the number of sexual assaults, from 19,300 assaults in 2011 to 26,000 in 2012. Of those, just 3,374 victims reported the assaults, and 302 went to trial, with just 238 convictions.
Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act amendment asserts that the central problem is the bias and conflicts of interest posed by commanding officers, which prevent victims from coming forward and perpetuates a culture of impunity.
“If you listen to those victims and survivors they will tell you that the reason they are not reporting these cases is because they do not trust the chain of command will do anything because they have either witnessed or feared retaliation,” Gillibrand said on Tuesday.
Sarah Plummer, who was raped as a young Marine in 2003, quoted by Gillibrand in testimony, said “Having someone within your direct chain of command just doesn’t make any sense. It’s like getting raped by your brother and having your dad decide the case.”
Another concern is that a higher-ranking officer is frequently the perpetrator. A responsible person in the chain of command may also be caught between taking action against someone higher up and helping the victim. Victims come from all service areas, according to the Pentagon report, but a majority are low ranking service members or even nonmilitary personnel.
“Until you address that issue, where they can actually report these cases ... you will never change the culture. You will never have the conviction rate, and the transparency and accountability that is necessary to stop sexual assault in the military,” said Gillibrand.
Most Victims Don’t Report Assaults
The Pentagon estimates that 89 percent of military victims do not report sex crimes, versus 65 percent of civilian victims, according to the Justice Department. The Pentagon also found 47 percent of those who experienced unwanted sexual contact indicated fear of retaliation or reprisal as the reason for not reporting.
Reform From Within
McCaskill has proposed a series of reforms aimed at providing extra support for victims, but allowing the chain of command to retain control. Nearly all the senators on the armed services committee, as well as most of the top military brass, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, support McCaskill’s proposal.
In an op-ed published Nov. 18, McCaskill argues that in the last two years, 93 victims had cases brought forward by a court-martial after a prosecutor had declined to press charges, a benefit that would be lost if Gillibrand’s proposal were to be approved.
She also argued that increased reporting by victims is not likely based on experiences in allied countries where measures similar to Gillibrand’s have been tried. She also believes that without the support of the commanding officers, victims face an increased risk of retaliation after an outside court decides to press charges.
Gillibrand’s amendment is expected to face a filibuster unless she can muster the 60 votes needed to overcome it. In the meantime, she said she was calling or meeting with every undecided senator.
McCaskill said on the Senate floor that the dispute has been a distraction from the positive changes in the bill that both her and Gillibrand agree on.
“I would be less than candid if I didn’t say it has been frustrating to have one policy difference dominate the discussion of this issue over the previous few weeks without anyone even realizing the historic reforms that are contained in this bill,” McCaskill said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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