STATEMENT: Protect Our Defenders Calls on President Obama to Have Military Sexual Assault Victims’ Backs After Vote Filibustered
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2014
Contact: Brian Purchia, brian@protectourdefenders.com
*** STATEMENT ***
PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS CALLS ON PRESIDENT OBAMA TO HAVE MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS’ BACKS AFTER VOTE FILIBUSTERED
Washington DC – Today, Congress has failed service members who have risked their lives to defend this nation. Although a majority of the Senate and the American people are in favor of independent and impartial justice for service members, the Senate filibustered the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA), which would have created such a system within the military. Sadly, two Senators, Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), led the effort to prevent justice from prevailing. This filibuster condemns service members to an arbitrary and broken judicial process in which conflict and personal bias control the adjudicatory process.
Last year, President Obama told victims of sexual assault in the military, “I want them to hear directly from their commander in chief that I’ve got their backs.” The time has come for the President to take meaningful steps to demonstrate his commitment to that promise.
Protect Our Defenders President Nancy Parrish released the following statement:
“This movement of survivors, their supporters, and those in our military community who recognize the need for reform to protect our troops will not be denied. In America, every major civil rights issue has taken many attempts until the law was fixed to reflect the moral decency and inherent fairness of the American people. Service members deserve a professional and unbiased justice system equal to the system afforded to the civilians they protect. It is a travesty that this very practical, conservative measure, supported by a substantial majority of the Senate and 60% of Americans was blocked by a procedural filibuster. We may have lost this battle due to political maneuverings, but effective reform will be accomplished. It is only a matter of time. We will redouble our efforts to secure the legal rights of American servicemen and women who have been sexually abused while serving their country.
“We are proud that the majority of the country and a strong majority of Senators recognize the need for an independent and impartial justice system for our troops. More importantly, we salute the hundreds of survivors and their families who have fought so hard to raise awareness of this issue and bring fundamental reform to a broken military justice system. This arbitrary and chaotic administration of justice has undermined trust in the system. A person’s boss or his friends should not have the authority to decide whether a sexual assault investigation is prosecuted and neither should a commander.
“Last year, President Obama told every service member who has experienced sexual assault that he has their backs and will support them. Protect Our Defenders calls on President Obama to make good on his word. Until this happens, this crisis that has affected tens of thousands of our brave men and women in uniform will continue unabated. How many more innocent victims have to suffer before fundamental reform is enacted?”
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US News and World Report: Sexual Assault Victims Have Waited Too Long for Justice
Air Force Times: Group shines a light on victim backlash in military sex assaults
Huffington Post: The Time Is Now for Military Justice for Assault Victims
Associated Press: Documents Reveal chaotic Military Sex-Abuse Record
http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/documents-reveal-chaotic-military-sex-abuse-record-1
Associated Press: Misconduct forces more soldiers out
http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-misconduct-forces-more-soldiers-145434065.html
San Jose Mercury News: Senate must pass reforms to help end epidemic of sexual assault military
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_25125887/mercury-news-editorial-senate-must-pass-reforms-help
Protect Our Defenders 2013 Media Report
https://www.protectourdefenders.com/protect-our-defenders-2013-media-report
Military Times: Pentagon advisory panel: Strip commanders’ ability to prosecute sexual assaults
Air Force Times: Fear of retaliation: The culture that prevents airmen from speaking up
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.
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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