MSNBC: Critics pan Pentagon sexual assault reforms
MSNBC reports:
The Pentagon’s Thursday announcement of new reforms to how it handles military sexual assault received a tepid response from advocates who called the new measures necessary but insisted that the half dozen new proposals still fall far short of what is needed to address the epidemic of sexual violence in the ranks.
“While we support efforts that attack the status quo, these changes are mostly small tweaks to a broken system,” said Taryn Meeks, executive director of Protect Our Defenders in response to the Defense Department’s plan.
Among Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s instructions to top military leaders were plans to create a special advocacy program for each branch of the military providing legal services to victims, elevate certain oversight capabilities to higher ranking officers, and standardize policies related to inappropriate relationships between superiors and subordinates across all branches.
