PRESS RELEASE: General Welsh Blames Troops for Sexual Assault Epidemic
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2013
Contact: Brian Purchia, , brian@protectourdefenders.com
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GENERAL WELSH BLAMES TROOPS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT EPIDEMIC
Protect Our Defenders calls on Air Force Chief of Staff to disavow offensive remarks and instead focus on leadership failures, Military sexual assault survivors applaud Arlington Commonwealth Attorney for refusal to turn over Lt. Col. Krusinski case to the Air Force
WASHINGTON, DC –On Tuesday, Protect Our Defenders contacted the Arlington Commonwealth Attorney’s office and strongly recommended that they not agree to the Air Force’s reported request to transfer Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski’s sexual battery case to the military. The former head of the Air Force’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), Krusinski was arrested on Sunday and charged with sexual assault.
“We made this recommendation because, as yesterday’s SAPRO report indicates, an extremely small percentage of these cases in the military are ever prosecuted. Furthermore, frequently charges or the sentences for those that are brought forward are reduced to the point of becoming inconsequential,” said Nancy Parrish, President of Protect Our Defenders.
Two striking examples of the broken military justice system currently in the headlines include Lt. Gen. Franklin setting aside the sexual assault conviction of Lt. Col. Wilkerson at Aviano Air Base and Lt. Gen. Helms similarly overturning the sexual assault conviction ofCapt. Herrera at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
On top of these two cases, at a Senate Hearing yesterday, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh made a statement that is so far off base that it’s almost unbelievable. Gen. Welsh attributed the large and growing number of sexual assaults in the military to the“hook up” culture of young women joining the military.
“Roughly twenty percent of the young women that come into the Department of Defense and the Air Force report that they were sexually assaulted in some way, before they came into the military. So they come in from a society where this occurs. Some of it is the ‘hook up’ mentality of junior high even high school students now….The same demographic group moves into the military. We have got to change the culture once they arrive, the way they behave, the way they treat each other…. ” said General Welsh.
On the same day that President Obama called the epidemic an “outrage” and said he has victims “backs” – it is extremely inappropriate for Gen. Welsh to blame the victims and to blame low ranking troops for their assaults. Pentagon reports make it crystal clear that superiors commit over half of the offenses.
“Is General Welsh not reading his own reports? He should disavow this remark and focus his attention on commanders who are not leading, as they should. This was the wrong signal to send. The inherent problem is one of a broken justice system and a culture of abuse and retaliation for victims that speak out. As yesterday’s SAPRO report makes clear, today, two-thirds of victims who report say they suffered professional or administrative retaliation,” said Parrish. “General Welsh should know that the solution lies in reform of the military justice system and culture of misogyny, victim blaming and failure to prosecute perpetrators. It is a problem that requires leadership, not blaming the troops as an excuse.”
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Bloomberg: Obama Vows Action After Air Force Sex-Assault Chief Chargedhttp://www.sfgate.com/
Talking Points Memo: VA Prosecutors Not Handing Over Case Of Air Force Officer To Military Authorities http://livewire.
Washington Post: General’s promotion blocked over her dismissal of sex-assault verdict http://www.washingtonpost.com/
LA Times: Military sex crime record should bring shame http://www.latimes.com/local/
Arizona Republic: Protest planned over base transfer of sex-scandal figure http://www.azcentral.com/news/
Wired: Air Force Chief of Sexual-Assault Prevention Arrested on Sexual Battery Charges http://www.wired.com/
Protect Our Defenders petition Calling on Sec. Hagel to Remove Lt. Gen. Franklin and Lt. Col. Wilkerson: http://www.causes.com/aviano
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/
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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