Courier-Journal: Rand Paul: Changes needed in military handling of sex assault
Sen. Rand Paul writes about his support of MJIA in The Courier Journal:
According to the DoD, 50 percent of victims admitted that they did not report crimes because they believed nothing would be done with their report. In the FY2012 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office report, 74 percent of females and 60 percent of males encountered one or more barriers to reporting sexual assault. Sixty-two percent of victims who reported a sexual assault indicated they perceived some form of professional, social, and/or administrative retaliation for their reporting.
This represents a failure to defend the rights of alleged victims — many of whom we call upon to defend this nation.
The Pentagon estimates that 26,000 members of our military experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2012. It has also been reported that 23.6 percent of female veterans have a history of military sexual trauma. These statistics cannot be ignored, which is why I have joined Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in supporting the Military Justice Improvement Act.
