Talking Points Memo: McCaskill, Gillibrand Clash On How To Stop Rape In Military

TPM reports on Protect Our Defenders’ McCaskill attack ad:

Publicly, the two Democratic women have remained cordial as they talk up their respective plans, and attribute their differences to honest disagreements. But behind the scenes, the battle is getting testy as outside advocates are jumping in the fray to take sides. One advocacy group for military rape victims, Protect Our Defenders, stunned McCaskill by attacking her in an ad for opposing the Gillibrand plan, despite the Missourian’s advocacy for rape victims.

An estimated 26,000 instances of unwanted sexual contact occurred in the military in 2012, of which just 3,000 were reported, according to the Department of Defense. Just 302 of those cases went to trial and 238 subjects were convicted.

Supporters of Gillibrand’s plan argue the existing system is broken and that requiring civilian review of cases that aren’t prosecuted isn’t enough. The big problem, they say, citing victims advocates, is that the chain of command encourages victims to keep quiet.