Our Congressional representatives from Kansas need to get behind the Military Justice Improvement Act, a proposal to combat sexual assault in the military. It started with a Democratic Senator, Kristen Gillibrand of New York, but has already become a bipartisan effort. Republicans who have lent their support so far include Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky, who remarked this week, “I try not to look at issues from a partisan point of view. I’m sure I do sometimes, but I try not to. As a physician, I look at problems and try to find solutions.”
This needs a solution: According to a report by the Defense Department, an estimated 26,000 cases of sexual assault occurred in 2012, up 37 percent from the previous year. Two-thirds of women chose not to report the incidents, in many cases because the feared retaliation. Another report from the Defense Department showed that more than 1 in 5 female service members reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact while serving in the military.
Thirty-three senators now support the measure that would change the system for reporting and prosecuting sexual assault cases in the military. It would shift the decision to prosecute serious crimes to independent military prosecutors outside of the chain of command. Currently, commanders choose whether to prosecute sexual assault cases.
The proposal would fix a fundamental flaw in the system. And yet, to date, our Kansas senators have not gotten behind this. In the House of Representatives, Lynn Jenkins has added her name to the corresponding bill, but Tim Huelskamp has not. Sen. Paul said he sees “no reason why conservatives shouldn’t support this.”
It’s time to make it happen.