Pending Legislation Regarding Sexual Assaults in the Military

Last year, for the fourth year in a row, there were more than 3,000 reported cases of sexual assault in the military, including 2,558 unrestricted reports and an additional 816 restricted reports. Restricted meaning that in accordance with the victim's request, they were handled in a confidential manner and not investigated. A recent survey conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD) indicates that the actual number of sexual offenses could be considerably higher, as 6.1 percent of active duty women and 1.2 percent of active duty men surveyed reported having experienced an incident of unwanted sexual contact in the previous 12 months. Even one case of sexual assault in the military is one too many. No one who volunteers to serve our country should be subjected to this kind of treatment by those with whom they serve. We expect our men and women in uniform to be brothers and sisters in arms, to be prepared to take care of each other in the toughest of situations in the face of the enemy. That trust is violated when one servicemember sexually assaults another, and can only be restored when we have decisively restored discipline and addressed this plague.