Statement in Rumsfeld Decision to Investigate Sexual Assults on Female Soldiers

REP. SLAUGHTER STATEMENT ON RUMSFELD DECISION TO INVESTIGATE SEXUAL ASSAULTS ON FEMALE SOLDIERS

BREAK IN TEXT

Rep. Slaughter and Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, have led 37 bipartisan Members of Congress in sending a letter calling on the House Armed Services Committee to hold a full committee hearing to examine the problem of sexual assault in the military.

February 5, 2004

The Honorable Duncan Hunter
Chairman
Armed Services Committee
2120 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20003

The Honorable Ike Skelton
Ranking Member
Armed Services Committee
2120 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton:

As you may know, recent reports have revealed a disturbing trend of sexual assault and abuse of women within the U.S. military. The problem is exacerbated when these attacks seem to be ignored by some within the military leadership, and when the perpetrators often go unpunished, sometimes at the discretion of their commanding officers.

The Denver Post recently published an eye-opening and disturbing exposé series detailing the failure of our armed forces to prosecute and appropriately address many of these horrendous crimes. For your review, we have enclosed a copy of this series. In response to this investigative series, we are contacting you to request a full committee hearing to examine the root causes and other contributing factors that enable these abuses to continue. For example, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) gives commanding officers-instead of independent prosecutors-the authority to decide when to pursue criminal action. This leeway allows them to overlook such serious crimes, like rape and other forms of violence when a "good soldier" is the offender, or when the military does not want the negative publicity that these cases may foster.

We also request that the hearing cover related issues, such as following up on the recommendations made in the "Report of The Panel to Review Sexual Misconduct Allegations at the U.S. Air Force Academy," chaired by the Honorable Tillie K. Fowler, which were raised during the Total Force Subcommittee Hearing on September 24, 2003, as well as other recent allegations of assaults on our U.S. servicewomen. This kind of hearing is necessary to counteract the reported disregard for the safety and well-being of women serving in the U.S. military. Immediate attention to end these abuses against our U.S. servicewomen is absolutely critical.

Thank you for your consideration of our request, and we look forward to working with you on this issue. Should you have any questions about this request, please contact Julia Ernst with Representative Slaughter at 5-3615 or Krista Sheets with Representative Capito at 5-2711.

Sincerely,

Shelley Moore Capito Louise M. Slaughter
Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus Co-Chair, Congressional Caucus
for Women's Issues for Women's Issues