Senator Claire McCaskill released a statement on Thursday about her plans to curb the number of sexual assaults in the military.
Based on the most recent report by the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, over the past couple of years, the number of women sexually assaulted in the military has risen to 1 in 3, as opposed to 1 in 6 civilian women.
Women also only make up about 14.5 percent of active-duty personnel. According to figures provided by McCaskill’s office and the Pentagon, since 2012, the number of reported assaults rose 6 percent, and more surprisingly, the number of service members experiencing unwanted sexual contact increased from 19,300 to 26,000.
McCaskill started her work back in 2011, when she changed the National Defense Authorization bill to protect survivors of sexual assault in the military. The bill included a measure to provide training of sexual assault response coordinators.
McCaskill also increased support for the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. Through the Department of Defense, she made it mandatory to keep long-term evidence for sexual assault cases in order to bring the victim’s assailant to justice.
Over the past year, she has participated in several Armed Services Committee hearings in which she challenged top military brass on sexual assaults and made certain to figure out how to hold assailants accountable and protect victims.
“I question whether, after this incident, there’s any chance a woman assaulted in that unit would ever say a word,” McCaskill said during a hearing March 5. “There’s a culture issue that’s going to have to be addressed here.”
The reforms she presented to the Defense Authorization bill were backed by unanimous support.
McCaskill said she wants to make it a punishable offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to retaliate against a victim who reports a criminal offense. Furthermore, a person found guilty of an offense of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy or an attempt to commit any of those offenses receive a punishment that includes, at a minimum, a dismissal or dishonorable discharge, according to a McCaskill representative Andy Newbold. Lastly, there will also be an elimination of the five-year statute of limitations for sexual assault and sexual assault of a child.
A Senate panel voted to approve most of the reforms, which, in the end, will increase the accountability for perpetrators and protections for survivors.
One of the most important provisions was stripping commanders of their authority to dismiss court martial convictions for most offenses, including cases of rape and sexual assault, Newbold said.
While there is still a long road ahead for McCaskill, it is very likely that all of the reforms will be included by the end of the year in the National Defense Authorization Act, Newbold said.
Over 2013, The U.S. House and Senate have each approved their versions of the bill that host “aggressive reforms addressing how the military handles sexual assaults,” McCaskill wrote in an [op-ed for USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/08/29/women-congress-sexual-assault-column/2725081/+), published Aug. 29.
While other Senators are doing their part separately, McCaskill, being a former courtroom prosecutor of sex crimes and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, is working with many members of Congress from both parties. Their eventual goal is to make the case for reforms that will maintain military commanders’ accountability, increase reporting in sexual assault cases, and put more perpetrators behind bars, Newbold said.
