Sexual assault has been a prevalent topic that has affected every sector of society. From Hollywood to the military, sexual assault has caused undue damage to countless survivors. Recently, cases of sexual assault have become more prominent in the military, cases which have been previously hidden, especially by people higher up in the military.
Between 2018 and 2019, there was a 3% increase in sexual assault reports involving service members as survivors or subjects. Even more so, there was a 17% increase of survivors confidentially disclosing their experience without filing for an official investigation.
If these statistics are not jarring enough, feedback from service members emphasizes how serious of a problem sexual assault in the military is. While young service members trust that their superiors are devoted to their safety, it is the mid or junior-level peers that are the perpetrators – either by enacting sexual misconduct or by turning a blind eye when it is happening. There have been dozens of stories that convey “for many troops, a culture of weekend binge drinking coupled with apathetic ― or even predatory ― supervisors continues to plague the services.”
There have been multiple attempts to prevent sexual assault in the military. For example, the Navy frequently requires sexual assault prevention training. But when it comes to the lower levels of the military, this message is not received. “We see it in our annual training, kind of the requirement that we got to check off,” a female junior Marine officer told a focus group. “But where I would like to see it is people actually calling each other out for stuff that influences the culture of that. Like being okay with people saying really [derogatory] things towards men or women in that case and be like, ‘Hey, let’s keep that out of the workplace.’ I haven’t seen that.”’
The majority of cases result because of a lack of acknowledgment of sexual assault prevention so much so that the Supreme Court has gotten involved. In U.S. v. Briggs, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in an 8-0 decision that military personnel accused of rape between 1986-2006 can be charged for the crime. This overturned a statute of limitation of five years on allegations made between these years. In the new opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the justices said the Uniform Code of Military Justice favored the government’s interpretation that military rape cases are “punishable by death” and therefore, carry no statute of limitations regardless of when the crime occurred.” This was momentous in helping the prevention of sexual assault. By getting rid of the statute of limitations, it set a precedent that no matter how long ago the rape happened, the perpetrators could still be brought to justice.
Another case that occurred prior to U.S. v. Briggs is the case of Harmony Allen. In 2000, Harmony Allen was raped by an air force instructor in Port St. Lucie. A military court convicted the instructor in 2017 but the instructor was released in May 2019 because the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces misunderstood the statute of limitations. U.S. v. Briggs helped Allen get the justice she deserved. Another result of Allen’s case was Harmony’s Law that prevents charged military rapists from being freed on a technicality. Harmony’s Law also allows the House Office of General Counsel (the legal office representing the House of Representatives) to represent rape survivors in military cases, abolished the statute of limitations for child abuse or sexual abuse that a military member commits against a child, and expresses an “intent of Congress” that the statute of limitation in cases of rape in the military should not be avoided. Allen’s case is one in a trend the Supreme Court has taken of holding military personnel accountable for crimes just like civilians would be held accountable. If the Supreme Court continues to hold sexual assault predators accountable in the military, hopefully, the number of cases of sexual assault will lessen in the military.
With more acknowledgment of sexual assault in the military, hopefully, there is more justice to survivors. Hopefully, the Supreme Court continues its trend of acknowledging sexual assault in the military and continues to bring justice to the survivors.