Success! House Votes to Stop Military Rape -- Make Sure the Senate Follows

When women join the military, they double their likelihood of getting raped -- not by an enemy, but by fellow soldiers, the people they should be able to trust as they serve alongside. The Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) and over 18,000 Change.org members who signed their petition believe that the women who defend our country deserve better. We demanded that Congress take action against epidemic rates of sexual violence in the military, and today, we came a major step closer to that goal: the House passed provisions to prevent military rape as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

"Today's historic vote is yet another positive step forward in the prevention and elimination of what continues to be a crisis in the military," stated SWAN Executive Director Anu Bhagwati. "Last year the Department of Defense estimates that over 19,000 sexual assaults occurred in the ranks. ... In the military you cannot quit your job, so you are forced to work with and deploy overseas with your assailant. ... This forced co-location causes the victim to be traumatized again and again. These legislative provisions would prevent this from happening." (Press release)

The high rates of sexual assault in the military have been blamed on a culture that blames victims while letting perpetrators off with a wink and a slap on the wrist. Yet 95% percent of rapes in the military are committed by repeat offenders, which means that letting off a rapist doesn't just deny his victim justice and make her continuing work environment a hostile one -- the military is putting other women in danger. Protecting serial rapists at the expense of others' safety is beyond unacceptable.

“The NDAA approved by the House represents a major victory in the effort to address the far too prevalent problem of sexual assault in our armed forces,” stated Rep. Niki Tsongas, co-author of the provisions with Rep. Michael Turner, in a press release announcing the milestone. But while this is a huge success and everybody involved should feel free to pat themselves on the backs, nothing will have been accomplished unless the Senate supports these provisions.

Senators John Kerry and Susan Collins introduced a version of the House provisions last week, which will be tackled over the next month by the Senate. SWAN warns that the Senate killed anti-sexual assault provisions that made it through the House last year, and they could do it again. That's why we need to you continue to take action by signing and sharing the SWAN petition to hold the Armed Forces responsible for sexual assault and harassment in the ranks.

Photo credit: SWAN