The day after Christmas, President Obama signed a defense bill with provisions to curb sexual assault in the U.S. military. Under the new law, anyone who engages in sexual assault will face dishonorable discharge, commanders are prevented from reversing jury decisions, legal assistance will be provided for victims, and “retaliation” against a victim will be punished.
This is good news, especially considering what was revealed in my earlier post. And as I reported then, the number of unreported sexual assaults is staggering.
According to the Department of Defense, roughly 86 percent of assaults go unreported, as victims fear punishment — including job termination — for speaking out.
For some this new law does not go far enough.
Although the bill is considered a positive development, many argue the newly instated regulations are not drastic enough. In contrast to Sen. Gillibrand’s Military Justice Improvement Act, which called for independent authorities to oversee and prosecute assault claims, the new bill still grants victims’ commanders the power to hear assault claims and administer punishment — a policy that often leads to inaction or failure to hold perpetrators accountable.
I agree that more needs to be done, however I find it very positive that at least this much has been accomplished, and hopefully there will be bipartisan support to do muhc more in the future.
Personally I think that protecting our service men and women from unwanted sexual contact should be something that we ALL can agree is a good thing.
And if someone in the military gets pregnant from rape, can they go to a military hospital for an abortion? Does the military pay for an abortion?
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ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_lU4gyo1_Y&feature=c4-overview&list=UU0fXXdVWNm7smD_0Itp9kUQ
It is beyond reason and inhumane that sexual assault in the military has such a dismal history.
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@12:37 Changes were made under President Clinton in 1993. If a soldier gets pregnant, they are allowed to have an abortion as long as NO DOD funds are used. IOW, privately funded abortions are allowed. Also included in the 1993 bill was an allowance to allow military funded abortions if the pregnancy was a result of military rape. In 1996, that bill was overturned as well and the exception for rape victims was eliminated.
ReplyDeleteWhat if the assailant IS your commander?
ReplyDelete