PRESS RELEASE: Discharge Recommendation for Airman Who Reported Sexual Assault Pulled as Air Force Times Breaks Story
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2013 Contact: Brian Purchia, (202) 253-(202) 253-4330, brian@protectourdefenders.com
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DISCHARGE RECOMMENDATION FOR AIRMAN WHO REPORTED SEXUAL ASSAULT PULLED AS AIR FORCE TIMES BREAKS STORY
Senior Airman was facing discharge from Air Force after reporting sexual harassment and assault, Protect Our Defenders calls on Air Force to investigate retaliation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Protect Our Defenders learned that a recommendation that Senior Airman Ciera Bridges be discharged from the Air Force has been dropped by the military. On Monday, the Air Force Times released an investigative series on the culture within the United States military that keeps victims of rape and sexual assault from speaking up: “They Accused Superiors of Assault & Harassment: Now their careers are over.” In the first installment of the series, the Air Force Times broke the latest story of retaliation in our armed forces detailing the reprehensible treatment of Airman Bridges:
The harassment began within months of her arrival at Nellis in November 2009, she said, and eventually turned physical, despite repeated complaints to her chain of command. Instead of handling the problems, she has alleged, her superiors retaliated against her, citing Bridges for minor misconduct that culminated in January in a discharge recommendation under other-than-honorable conditions. – Air Force Times
Bridges’ family came to Protect Our Defenders for help earlier this year.
“My client is grateful for the attention her plight received and for all of the positive responses and assistance. She is thankful for the resolution on the discharge and elated to have the opportunity to remain in the Air Force,” said Captain Windel L. Patterson, USAF Attorney for the victim. “But the emotional scars from years of harassment and assault, as well as nearly 10 months of stress and fearing for her Air Force career along with being subjugated as an outcast, remain. My client is resolute that action needs to be taken against those in her unit whom violated her trust.”
“We are pleased that the military quickly responded by dismissing the retaliatory discharge recommendation against Senior Airman Ciera Bridges in the wake of the Air Force Times article. Nobody should have to go through this sort of retaliation for reporting a crime,” said Nancy Parrish, President of Protect Our Defenders. “Unfortunately, what happened to Airman Bridges is something we see far too often in the military — the victim of sexual harassment and assault is punished for coming forward. We call on the military to conduct an investigation into the retaliation that Bridges has faced. Our brave sons and daughters, brothers and sisters that risk their lives for us deserve to receive justice equal to the civilians they protect. We need a professional, independent, impartial military justice system, rather than leaving the authority to prosecute and adjudicate in the hands of an often biased chain of command.”
A Pentagon report released earlier this year found 62 percent of sexual assault victims in the military who reported being attacked say they faced some kind of retaliation afterward.
“We are delighted that finally some attention is being brought to our daughter’s case (and many others like her) and three year struggle. This has been a long time coming and in our opinion, long overdue,” said Mr. and Mrs. Bridges. “We hope this is the start of what will be a fair shake to our daughter and a revolutionary change in terms of military sexual assault victim advocacy and enforcement of procedures relating to such. Since the start of our daughters offense, we’ve stood strong and together and we will continue to see this fight through as a family.”
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Air Force Times: Discharge dropped for airman who claimed retaliation http://www.airforcetimes.com/
Air Force Times: Fear of retaliation: The culture that prevents airmen from speaking up
Military Times: Miss Kansas: ‘Raise hell’ about sexual harassment
Politico: Kirsten Gillibrand gains on chain of command changes
http://www.politico.com/story/
Huffington Post: Female Veteran And Rape Survivor Thought, ‘It’ll Hurt Less Than If I’m Alive’
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Politico: Some brass back Kirsten Gillibrand’s sexual-assault bill
http://www.politico.com/story/
New York Times: Intrusive Grilling in Rape Case Raises Alarm on Military Hearings
Baltimore Sun: The Naval Academy sex assault hearing should be the last of its kind
http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Associated Press: Rape Victim: Retaliation Prevalent in Military
http://bigstory.ap.org/
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/
Protect Our Defenders partners with Attorney Susan Burke, Burke PLLC to advance lawsuits filed against the DoD and service academies for repeatedly ignoring rape, sexual assault and harassment, failing to prosecute perpetrators and retaliating against the victim.
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