Bustle: Navy Midshipman Asked About Underwear, Oral Sex Technique During Article 32 Hearing About Naval Academy Football Players
Protect Our Defenders is featured in this article from Bustle.com:
They asked about her sexual history, whether she was wearing a bra, whether she had underwear on. They asked about her oral sex technique. How wide, exactly, did she have her mouth open? asked Lt. Cmdr. Angela Tang. As the New York Times reported, Tang said this would indicate her “active participation” and therefore consent.
Another defense layer, Andrew Weinstein, asked her if she “felt like a ho” afterward.
No civilian trial would allow these questions. But this wasn’t a civilian trial: It was an Article 32 hearing, used to determine whether there’s enough evidence to go on to a court martial. In an Article 32 hearing, practically anything goes.
“The Article 32 process is yet another example of the broken military justice system,” Taryn Meeks, a former Navy Judge Advocate General lawyer and Executive Director of Protect Our Defenders, told MSNBC. “It’s a traumatic experience where the survivor is subject to cross-examination for hours or even days. Article 32 gives defense counsel almost unfettered access to the victim which often re-victimizes that person, and can significantly undermine their shot at getting justice.”
