| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 16, 2012 |
CONTACT: Brian Purchia brian@protectourdefenders.com |
***PRESS RELEASE***
LACKLAND SURVIVOR BIKES ACROSS COUNTRY TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT EPIDEMIC AND MONEY TO HELP VETERANS
Ret. Air Force SSGT Colleen Bushnell rides in honor of Army PFC LaVena Johnson, who was raped and murdered while serving in Iraq; Protect Our Defenders releases video with LaVena’s story
Washington DC – On Sunday, July 15 Ret. USAF Staff Sgt. and Protect Our Defenders Advocacy Board Member Colleen Bushnell and four other military heroes began a summer-long bike ride from Aberdeen, Washington to the nation’s capital. Colleen is riding to raise awareness for the victims of military sexual assault. The Department of Defense estimates that over 19,000 service members were raped or sexually assaulted in 2010, but that only 13.5% of sexual assaults are ever reported. Twenty-five percent of military sexual assault survivors say they don’t report because the commander they must report to is the rapist.
“More than half a million vets have experienced military sexual trauma (MST), but for decades the Pentagon has tried to cover up the epidemic instead of fixing the problem,” said Nancy Parrish, President of Protect Our Defenders. “With Colleen taking to the road this summer to share her story at bases and towns all over the country — we hope to build a movement to end the epidemic of military sexual assault and rape.”
The 90-day bike ride, called the Long Road Home Project, will take the veterans through 12 states, pedaling more than 4,000 miles. The veterans are raising money to fund their three-month journey and also plan to donate additional funds raised to Operation First Response, a non-profit that serves our Wounded Heroes with personal and financial needs. The veterans are biking to support different causes and heal war wounds.
Colleen, an Iraq war veteran, was raped at the now infamous Lackland Air Force Base by a superior officer in 2003 and assaulted the following year while on active duty. The mother of two is riding in honor of Army PFC LaVena Johnson who was raped and murdered while serving in Iraq.
“Army PFC LaVena Johnson had been in the military all of about six months when she died. Both of her parents were career Army civilians. They spoke to her one day, from Iraq, and two days later they got a knock on their door,” said Ret. USAF Staff Sgt. Colleen Bushnell. “Dr. and Mrs. Johnson along with their daughter, LaVena proudly served their country. Those who died in the war zone under mysterious circumstances and those left behind deserve a clear explanation based on evidence of what happened to their loved one while serving in combat. I hope to bring attention to their service.”
Nineteen year-old Johnson, was found dead on a military base in Balad, Iraq in July, 2005 — the first female solider from Missouri to die in Iraq or Afghanistan. The U.S. Army ruled Lavena’s death a suicide, but an autopsy report and photographs revealed Johnson had a broken nose, black eye, loose teeth, burns from a corrosive chemical on her genitals, and a gunshot wound that seemed inconsistent with suicide.
Today, Protect Our Defenders released LaVena’s story, the eighth mini-documentary that the nationally recognized human rights organization has produced about military sexual trauma.
Watch LaVena’s story: https://www.protectourdefenders.com/the-johnson-family-story/
Protect Our Defenders is a leader in the effort to reform the U.S. Military’s system for handling rape and sexual assault. Earlier this year, Protect Our Defenders won the annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Award for best use of video for the social good. ProtectOurDefenders.com also provides a platform for survivors to share their written stories. In addition, the website offers a support services network, including a forum for survivors to connect with each other and a resource library to help survivors find help.
The Long Road Home Project was started by Casey Miller, a civilian, as a way to help veterans with their transitions home.
“The Long Road Home Projects has three goals: first to provide our veteran cyclists the opportunity to heal their wounds from war, second to bring awareness to veteran’s issues such as PTSD and MST, and finally to raise money for direct service veteran’s charities,” said Casey Miller, Long Road Home Project founder.
It’s estimated that since 2001, more than 50,000 veterans have been wounded, while there are more than 270,000 veterans who may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The VA estimates that a veteran takes his or her own life every 80 minutes — 6,500 suicides per year. That’s 20 percent of all suicides in the United States. The VA estimates that more that half a million veterans have experienced military sexual trauma while serving our country.
Over the past year Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has announced several half measures to address the crisis of military sexual trauma, like bumping the reporting of rape and sexual assault further up the chain of command. But, this does little to address the problem. Many survivors have made it abundantly clear that senior commanders are just as capable of covering up assaults and frequently do. Commanders are incentivized to sweep problems under the rug as their careers can be adversely affected if a rape or sexual assault happens under their watch. And the DOD reports, “39% of women report that the perpetrator was a military person of higher rank and 23% indicated the offender was someone in their chain of command.”
Congress has held 17 hearings over the past 25 years, but incremental steps taken by the Department of Defense to address the problem of rape, sexual assault and harassment have failed. The prevalence of rape, the failure to prosecute perpetrators and the retaliation against the victim continues to undermine readiness, unit cohesion and morale.
The Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act – or STOP Act addresses the core issue. It removes the reporting, oversight, investigation, and victim care from the normal chain of command and places jurisdiction in an autonomous and unbiased office comprised of civilian and military experts. The bi-partisan legislation has 125 co-sponsors.
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Watch Army PFC LaVena Johnson’s story:
https://www.protectourdefenders.com/the-johnson-family-story/
Read about Ret. USAF Staff Sgt. Colleen Bushnell’s story in the The Daily Caller:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/04/air-force-sexual-assault-victim-starts-the-long-road-home/
Follow Colleen as she bikes across the country on Facebook and Twitter at:
https://www.facebook.com/ColleenBushnell and @ColleenBushnell
Follow the Long Road Home Project on Facebook and Twitter at:
https://www.facebook.com/longroadhomeUSA and @LongRoadHomeUSA
For more information on the STOP Act, visit:
https://www.protectourdefenders.com/policy-statement/legislation/
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/ProtectOurDefenders or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ProtectRDfnders.
About Long Road Home Project: This year, the Long Road Home Project is raising $75,000 to cover food, lodging, and filming related expenses for their trip. A percentage of funds raised beyond their goal will be donated to Operation First Response, a non-profit dedicated to providing financial assistance to our Wounded Heroes of all branches of the military in times of hardship.
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Note to Producers/Editors:
High resolution photography is available upon request
Interviews and b-roll with Dr. Johnson and veterans available upon request
Detailed schedule & real-time rider locator is at: http://longroadhomeproject.com/#route
Donations can be made directly on-line at: http://longroadhomeproject.com/#donate or by texting the word “veteran” to 72727.