STATEMENT: Protect Our Defenders Responds to Army General Suspended Over Mishandling of Sexual Assault Case in Japan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2014 Contact: Brian Purchia, Brian@protectourdefenders.com
*** STATEMENT ***
PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS RESPONDS TO ARMY GENERAL SUSPENDED OVER MISHANDLING OF SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE IN JAPAN
Washington DC – Today the Washington Post revealed in a front page story that Major General Michael T. Harrison Sr., the commander of U.S. Army forces in Japan was suspended in June 2013 for mishandling a case involving a victim who reported that she had been sexual assaulted by a service member. Her alleged attacker is an Army Colonel that Maj. Gen. Harrison has known for two decades. This is just one of many examples where a commander mishandles, sweeps under the rug or otherwise ignores sexual-assault cases.
Protect Our Defenders President Nancy Parrish released the following statement:
“How many times do we have to see that the military is incapable of self policing? Over and over again top commanders seek to protect bad actors over victims. Congress’s lack of true oversight makes them complicit in these perversions of justice.
“Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Hagel said that military leaders have a responsibility to make the issue of sexual assault a priority. He said, ‘like everything in life, everyone in positions of leadership are accountable.’
“Simply saying everyone is accountable does not make it so. Only when we remove the command bias and conflict of interest from the military justice system will we achieve transparency and accountability. Countless investigative reports and scandals show that military brass continues to treat this crisis like a PR problem, while our brave men and women in uniform are suffering.
“The Harrison case is yet another example documenting the reluctance of the military to actually administer strong punishment to senior officers who fail to do their duty to protect their troops. Too often those in power are not being held accountable without pressure from the outside.
“Simply reprimanding and refusing to further promote senior officers who do not take sexual offenses seriously or even commit serious offenses themselves, is not good enough.
“The military justice system too often protects higher-ranking perpetrators. It is fundamentally a broken system. Your boss or your boss’ friend should not decide whether to prosecute a sexual assault allegation. It is un-American. As this case once again demonstrates, commanders are inherently conflicted, biased to those they know best, not professionally trained, and therefore unable to administer blind justice to colleagues with whom they have worked, often for decades. It is obvious that the current system has not and will not work well.
“The military justice system must be reformed to give independent, professionally trained military prosecutors the authority to prosecute cases without having to seek the approval of the commander of the accused perpetrator.”
–
Washington Post: Army general disciplined over mishandling of sexual-assault case in Japan
Associated Press: Documents Reveal chaotic Military Sex-Abuse Record
http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/documents-reveal-chaotic-military-sex-abuse-record-1
Stars and Stripes: Army disqualifies 588 soldiers from ‘positions of trust’
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/army-disqualifies-588-soldiers-from-positions-of-trust-1.270136
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.
###
