WASHINGTON – One year after Congress passed into law sweeping changes to how the military justice system handles sexual violence, the U.S. Senate and House will soon vote on a bipartisan package of additional reforms sponsored by U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), and Deb Fischer (Neb.).
The current version of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act will include provisions of the Senators’ bipartisan Victims Protection Act—a set of policies to supplement those that were already enacted in last year’s annual defense bill. The Victims Protection Act would:
Eliminate the “good soldier” defense for servicemembers accused of sexual assault under most circumstances,
Allow victims formal input on whether their case is tried in military or civilian court,
Allow survivors to challenge their discharge or separation from service,
Strengthen the role of the prosecutor in advising commanders on going to court-martial,
Boost accountability of commanders for setting appropriate command climate,
And extend protections to the Military Service Academies.
The Victims Protection Act received unanimous approval in the Senate earlier this year, but had not yet received consideration in the U.S. House. The Senate and House will vote on the final negotiated version of the defense bill—including these new reforms—in the coming days. The Pentagon is also presenting a report this week to President Obama on progress combatting sexual violence in the ranks.
“A year ago, a sexual assault survivor in the U.S. military faced a daunting landscape, but things are different now,” said McCaskill, a former courtroom prosecutor of sex crimes and senior member of the Armed Services Committee. “We’re already seeing positive signs as a result of the historic reforms we passed last year—but even if this week’s report shows the continued progress we’re hoping for, these additional reforms are commonsense ways to keep empowering survivors, and holding commanders accountable to curb these crimes.”
“These measures are important steps that will build on the reforms passed last year to prevent sexual assaults in our military, strengthen prosecution of such crimes, and provide victims with the support, care, and resources they need. Our legislation changes the status quo by holding commanders more accountable for treating victims with dignity and respect, and helps ensure that perpetrators will be fully prosecuted under the law. Our bill also removes the ‘good soldier defense,’ so that defendants are prosecuted based on the evidence and nothing else,” said Ayotte. “We remain committed to ensuring that victims are supported, and I will continue to closely scrutinize our military’s progress in implementing these reforms.”
“Though we have already passed a series of significant, historic reforms to curb sexual assault in the ranks, we remain focused on achieving the intended results,” Senator Fischer said. “I am encouraged by the impact these changes have made: reporting is up and assaults are down. This is precisely the goal of our legislative efforts. We will continue to promote policies, like those within our Victims Protection Act, that empower victims and hold perpetrators accountable.”
As part of last year’s annual defense bill:
Commanders were stripped of the ability to overturn convictions, and are now held accountable under rigorous new standards.
Every victim who reports a sexual assault gets their own independent lawyer to protect their rights and fight for their interests—a reform that has no parallel in the civilian justice system.
Civilian review is now required if a commander decides against a prosecution in a sexual assault case when a prosecutor wants to go to trial.
Dishonorable discharge is now a required minimum sentence for anyone convicted of a sexual assault.
It is now a crime for any servicemember to retaliate against a victim who reports a sexual assault.
The pre-trial “Article 32” process, which came under scrutiny following a recent case at the Naval Academy, has been reformed to better protect victims.
And the statute of limitations in these cases has now been eliminated, a particularly important development in a sustained battle against sexual assaults.
As these reforms have been implemented across the military, the Pentagon recently released figures showing a spike in reporting of sexual assaults, indicating increasing confidence in the military justice system from victims of sexual assault.
