ABC 7 News: Women in Combat Could Curb Sex Assault

Mark Matthews interviews former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and reports on the efforts of Protect Our Defenders Honorary Chair Rep. Jackie Speier to combat sexual assault in the military:

MATTHEWS: Panetta appears to be on board with Speier’s legislation as long as the cases are handled within the military.

PANETTA: I’m a little concerned about pulling discipline or the legal side out of the military just because I really do believe that the military has to take responsibility for dealing with this issue, and we shouldn’t bail them out of it.

MATTHEWS: He says the military must continue to push commanders to make the right decisions, but he also thinks that allowing women into combat units may do more than anything else to change how they are treated.

PANETTA: Because when they get into combat, when they becoe recognized that they can do the job as well as anybody else, that’ll put a lot of pressure on the military to understand that they’re there to stay.