Op-ed: Stop sexual violence in the military

From USA Today:

We are blessed with the most disciplined, honorable, and effective military force the world has ever known, and improving the system to report and prosecute sexual assault within the Armed Forces will help us maintain that distinction for years to come.

While there are many areas of disagreement between us, as conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, we all believe in our solemn obligation to protect those who volunteer to protect us. No member of our Armed Forces should expect to be faced with sexual assault, and if they are, their complaints deserve to be heard through a fair and just process.

For many years, our military leadership has worked hard to improve the system, but, tragically, serious problems remain. Now that the Senate Armed Services Committee has been presented with overwhelming evidence showing the persistent need for reform, we believe Congress must act.

According to the Defense Department, 3,374 cases of unwanted sexual contact were reported last year, resulting in just 302 trials and 238 convictions. Moreover, the Defense Department estimates there were nearly 23,000 additional cases of unwanted sexual contact that went unreported. That means, in total, there were 26,000 incidents of unwanted sexual contact — a 37% increase over the previous year.

Such a substantial increase requires our immediate attention. That is especially true considering that many of these are very serious allegations, not mere complaints about inappropriate jokes or disagreeable verbal comments. More than half of the 2012 reported cases — 61% — cited in the DOD's report involved serious assaults, such as rape, aggravated sexual assault, or non-consensual sodomy.

And the Inspector General for the Department of Defense has discovered disturbing problems with a portion of sexual assault cases that were pursued; more than 10% of the 501 cases examined from 2010 had significant deficiencies, lacking basic elements such as simple witness interviews.

Strikingly, across the branches, a majority of service members — 74 percent of females and 60 percent of males — perceived barriers to reporting these crimes. And, that's only among the soldiers who were willing to report.

The Defense Department's report stated that 66% of victims said they were not comfortable enough to report it, 50% believed nothing would be done if they did, and 47% cited fear of retaliation to explain their silence.

Something must be done.

Under current law, the decision whether to prosecute serious crimes in the military rests solely with the commanding officer, who also has the unreviewable authority to dismiss court-martial decisions.

What we're doing now isn't working. And the evidence suggests that it would be far easier for victims to come forward with complaints of unwanted sexual contact if, instead, an experienced, objective third-party evaluated these allegations, rather than a soldier's commanding officer.

Our proposal would do just that. Moving towards a system that relies on an independent military prosecutor to pursue these complaints will improve reporting by giving soldiers an impartial place to report crimes without fear of reprisal.

For crimes that would result in punishment greater than one year of confinement, the decision whether to court martial would be transferred to a senior military JAG officer outside the chain of command. For all other minor offenses and the more than 30 serious crimes that are unique to the military, commanders would retain authority. This framework preserves the responsibility of commanding officers to establish their authority in a climate that maintains order.

This approach has been successfully employed by several of our strongest allies, including Israel, the United Kingdom, and Germany. It will not impact battlefield decision-making or inject unnecessary legal layers into combat decisions. It merely eliminates a barrier for victims who are afraid to report a niche of crimes against them.

Our all-volunteer force includes more than 200,000 women on active duty; it is a different force than we had 50 years ago. Congress need to adjust to that reality and improve the systems for prosecuting violent sexual crime in order to preserve the very values of duty and faith that are the foundation of our Armed Forces.

This is a problem we can solve. Together, we can take these steps to encourage reporting and to deter sexual assault in the military, and to honor the commitment we owe to protect the brave men and women who defend our Nation.