Sexual Assault Reporting: Senator Gillibrand Pushes for Reform in the Military

By AMANDA KORB
STAFF WRITER

At St. Lawrence University, we encourage victims of sexual assault to report their case. The incidence is to be shared to someone with authority than can offer protection and accountability from the offender. When thinking protection, the image of the police or military department may come to mind; however, how can we expect students to report with confidence to school officials when sexual assault in the military has rose 37% in the past year? Of that percent, one in every five cases the offender was an official in command.
Currently, victims of sexual assault in the military are directed to report to the chief commander. Ideally the commander would then take action to persecute the offender, but Sarah Plummer, US Marine Corps, states otherwise. “Having someone within your direct chain of command handling the case, it just doesn’t make sense. It’s like your brother raping you and having your dad decide the case.”
For commanders or military personal accused of sexual assault, the zero tolerance policy is not reflected in the statistics. 37% of accused offenders were neither persecuted in 2011, nor ejected from their hierarchy. A mere slap on the wrist is clearly not solving the overall problem.
New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is currently striving to combat this injustice. The proposed Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA) provides an outlet for victims, while still holding commanders accountable for military infractions such as failure over orders. Originally shot down in March of this year, Gillibrand refuses to be unfettered by Congress and reintroduced the withstanding issue last week to President Obama. The reformation moves the decision whether to prosecute any crime, such as sexual assault, that is punishable by a year or more in confinement to professional military prosecutors.
According to Senator Gillibrand, “the clear bias and inherent conflicts of interest posed by the military chain of command’s current sole decision-making power over whether cases move forward to a trial” is a clear reason for the need for administrative separation in dealing with sexual assault cases. Victims are blatantly not reporting their personal violations for 62% received retaliating consequences either personally or professionally for exposing themselves. The MJIA will bring “more transparency, more objectivity, and more reporting of the crime,” states Gillibrand. As a result, more convictions will take place, which will promote victims to increasingly report their assailants.