Former sex crimes prosecutor and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today met with Major General Jeffrey Snow, the new director of the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), to discuss implementing a series of aggressive, historic reforms addressing sexual assault that were passed into law last month.
McCaskill and Snow also addressed recent statistics that showed a 50 percent increase in reporting in the 2013 fiscal year. Advocates who successfully pushed for changes to the military justice system-including McCaskill-have near-universal agreement that increases in reporting of these crimes will represent progress in the effort to curb them.
“The numbers show that these reforms may already be starting to work, but we have to continue being vigilant in addressing these crimes,” said McCaskill, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Maj. Gen. Snow understands that his job will be incredibly difficult, and he knows he will be under an enormous amount of pressure from me, my colleagues, and the American people to get this right. Retaining a limited role for commanders, while instituting these historic reforms, is the key to curbing sexual assaults in the military, and the key to getting justice for our nations heroes.”
McCaskill grilled military leaders last year in several Senate hearings and introduced legislation-which has since been passed into law-that curtailed the authority of military commanders to dismiss jury convictions against sex offenders. That proposal became law as part of last year’s annual defense bill, which ultimately included a host of historic reforms to curb sexual assaults in the military, including:
Requiring civilian review if a commander declines to prosecute a case
Assigning victims their own independent legal counsel to protect their rights and fight for their interests
Mandating dishonorable discharge for anyone convicted of sexual assault
Criminalizing retaliation against victims who report a sexual assault
Eliminating the statute of limitations in rape and sexual assault cases