Seacoast Online: Shaheen: Take sex assault investigations away from military
Seacoast reports:
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., heard on Monday what she called the “best practices” that civilian groups can offer to address the issue of sexual assaults in the military.
The ideas from the 16 roundtable participants at Holloway Commons at the University of New Hampshire included the need for confidentiality, the need for prevention programs based on research, and the need to take the investigation of complaints out of the military chain of command.
The latter is included in a proposal from U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., as part of sweeping legislation in the Defense Authorization Act currently being reviewed by Congress.
Shaheen said after the roundtable she supports getting the investigation of sexual assault out of the hands of the military and into the hands of independent prosecutors.
