Blog Post: Obama and Doonesbury
A message from Protect Our Defenders President Nancy Parrish
I’m heartened to share that the hard work of advocates and survivors on the ground this year has translated into national concern that few imagined just a few short years ago. This past month alone shows how far we’ve come in the fight for justice for our daughters and sons in the military.
This month, the Washington Post reported “support for stripping commanders of responsibility over assault and rape cases crosses all gender, racial, political and ideological divisions.” As Tailhook whistleblower Paula Coughlin recently said, “It is overwhelming to think how long so many of us have waited to hear such news.”
Last week, Garry Trudeau, Doonesbury creator and member of our Advisory Board, released a comic that sums up the need for fundamental reform. Click here to see what happens:
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced last week that she has secured a commitment for a vote for her bill, the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA) – the fundamental reform we have been fighting for – for early next year. Though we’ve waited for months, the Congressional delays have given us time to gather more support. You can see the long list of newspaper editorials announcing support for MJIA.
Senator Gillibrand has vowed to keep up the fight— and we’ll be standing strong alongside her, all 53 MJIA Senate supporters, Congresswoman Speier and so many others who support this effort, including the MST coalition of advocacy groups who have worked tirelessly on this issue.
Yesterday, President Obama called for a review of the military’s response to sexual assault a year from now to assess progress. We’re glad he’s turning his attention to the issue but a year is too long to wait for fundamental reform. Our men and women in uniform and their families deserve real solutions — not arbitrary delays. We will continue to work with White House staff on policy to reform the system.
This year, we proposed and fought hard for a new reform to Article 32 hearings, so victims will no longer be required to testify at these often abusive pre-trial hearings. We walked down the halls of Congress, quietly meeting one-on-one with Senators and Representatives alongside survivors like Kim Hanks and many others.
We continue to hold military leaders accountable. Just this week we once again called on Sec. Hagel and President Obama to remove Gen. Franklin, who overturned the sexual assault conviction of Kim’s attacker, Lt. Col. Wilkerson and more recently, against the recommendation of the current Aviano base commander, he refused to move forward to trial in a recent rape case and refused the victim’s request to meet.
Hundreds of survivors have advocated for reform through our Educate Your State initiative, written letters to their newspapers, spoken at local events, and volunteered at VA’s across the country. Since its’ launch in July, our Pro Bono Legal Network has worked with almost 100 veterans and active duty service members who were raped or assaulted, often retaliated against, and in need of immediate legal or other assistance.
Finally, we thought you might be interested to learn about General Robert Shadley’s The GAMe. The book is an invaluable education into how a scandal gets investigated inside the military and the cost to those who try to do the right thing. Gen. Shadley uncovered the Aberdeen scandal in 1996. We thank Gen. Shadley for his courage, leadership, and dedication to this issue.
Much work remains in the year ahead but now is a time to reflect upon and appreciate our community.
I wish you and your family a safe and warm holiday.
