STATEMENT: Protect Our Defenders’ Statement on The Invisible War
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2013
Contact: Brian Purchia, , brian@protectourdefenders.com
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STATEMENT FROM PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS PRESIDENT NANCY PARRISH ON THE INVISIBLE WAR
Washington DC – Protect Our Defenders President Nancy Parrish today released the following statement about The Invisible War. The documentary is up for an Oscar for Best Documentary.
“We congratulate everybody involved with The Invisible War for bringing the epidemic of sexual assault in the military to the forefront of America’s consciousness and demanding our elected leaders and the military put an end to this silent epidemic on our brothers, sisters, daughters and sons.
The military justice system is broken. In my work as an advocate, it breaks my heart to see this same kind of behavior in 2013 that has gone on for decades. Our brave men and women who have been raped or sexually assaulted should not be punished for reporting a crime — a felony crime to a superior officer. Our country is losing good and valuable troops and it must stop in 2013.
We all know commanders at all levels are just as capable as their juniors of committing these offenses. Thirty-nine percent of female victims report that their perpetrator was of a higher rank (outside their chain of command) and 23% report it was someone within their chain of command. We have seen too many instances where a bad commander at all levels can and does end a good soldier’s career.
The Director of The Invisible War, Kirby Dick who has interviewed more than a hundred survivors for his film, said recently in an interview with the Air Force Times that in nearly every case that survivors they spoke with were let down by somebody in their chain of command. When asked if the military could make only one change to fix the epidemic, what it should be – he was very clear, ‘take the decision to investigate and prosecute these crimes outside of the chain of command. Since the film was released, Panetta has elevated that decision up from the unit commander to the O-6 level, but he kept it within the chain of command. The system is encumbered by command bias and conflict of interest. We have to be very clear: The system as it stands now doesn’t work and, really, is the primary problem.’
Instead, last month during the Congressional hearing on Lackland, the largest sexual abuse scandal in Air Force history we heard Gen. Welsh tell those assembled, ‘Why, on what was undoubtedly the worst day of a victim’s life, did they not turn to us for help?’
Gen. Welsh knows the answer. The Chain of Command has let too many men and women down. The epidemic is getting worse. Between 2011-2012, reports of assaults remained the same yet:
· Commanders’ actions on the grounds of sexual assault decreased 23%
· The numbers of initiated courts-martial fell 8%
· The number of perpetrators convicted of committing sexual assault decreased 22%.
Our leaders in Congress and our military have failed our men and women in uniform. As Americans we must demand that in 2013 our elected officials take the reporting and investigation out of the chain of command once and for all. No more delays or half measures. We need them to face this systemic crisis within our military and fundamentally fix it.
In December 2011, a federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit (Cioca v. Rumsfeld) filed on behalf of 28 assault victims against the military for failure to protect them, provide justice and for the retaliation they suffered. The judge agreed with the military defense attorney’s argument that ‘the alleged harms are incident to plaintiffs’ (victims) military service.’ An Occupational hazard. This is disgraceful.
It is a national security risk not to fix the sexual assault epidemic. It adversely affects unit cohesion and undermines mission readiness. People’s lives, livelihoods, dreams, and careers are being thwarted. An individual Commander’s discretion is at the heart of the military criminal justice system and it has failed.
Over twenty years ago, In September 1992, according to the LA Times, ‘several lawmakers’ in response to the Tailhook scandal ‘proposed stripping the armed services of their role in probing sexual molestation cases.’ The patience and deference that Congress and the American public have shown the Defense Department in solving this crisis, has come at great cost to our service members, veterans and ultimately to our society.
Our military leadership has failed too many of our daughters, sons, husbands, wives, friends and neighbors who only wanted to serve our country.
This crisis cannot be effectively addressed incrementally. Retired Brigadier General Loree Sutton recently said, ‘The only credible solution is an independent special victims unit completely outside the (unit) chain of command, under professional civilian oversight.’ We agree.
If you haven’t watched The Invisible War we encourage you to do so and ask your elected leaders to fix the epidemic of sexual in our military this year.”
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San Antonio Current: Advocates: Lackland hearings should spark reforms, not more empty promises
http://blogs.sacurrent.com/
NBC News: Civil Rights Commission urged to order audit of military sex-assault cases
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_
WOAI News: Congress will Probe Lackland Sex Scandal
http://radio.woai.com/cc-
ABC News: Activists Demand Congress Hold Open Hearing on Air Force Sexual Assaults
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/
Paula Coughlin-Puopolo’s petition demanding Congress investigates the Lackland sexual assault scandal can be viewed here:
http://www.causes.com/causes/
Contact info for the House Armed Services Committee:
Claude Chafin, Claude.Chafin@mail.house.gov (202) 225-4151
About Protect Our Defenders: Protect Our Defenders is a human rights organization. We seek to honor, support and give voice to the brave women and men in uniform who have been sexually assaulted while serving their country, and re-victimized by the military adjudication system – a system that often blames the victim and fails to prosecute the perpetrator. Learn more about Protect Our Defenders at www.protectourdefenders.com or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/ProtectOur
Protect Our Defenders partners with Attorney Susan Burke, Burke PLLC to advance lawsuits filed against the DoD and service academies for repeatedly ignoring rape, sexual assault and harassment, failing to prosecute perpetrators and retaliating against the victim.
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