Sexual Assault in the Military

Floor Speech

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Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues in highlighting the epidemic of sexual assault in our Nation's armed services, and I am glad to join many of my colleagues here--the Senators from Maine and New Hampshire and our leader, the Senator from Maryland--in making sure the voices of women are heard in this debate.

We know that in May 2013 the Defense Department released a report that showed 26,000 incidents of unwanted sexual contact among servicemembers. That is an increase of 35 percent over 2 years.

In my State, Washingtonians are very proud of the incredible men and women who keep our country safe and defend us, and we are proud of the 10 military installations across our State. There are more than 65,000 men and women serving in military installations in the State of Washington--places such as Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Naval Station Everett, Naval Base Kitsap, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, Bangor Naval Submarine Base, and Fairchild Air Force Base. So we took it seriously when there were 116 reports of sexual assault across all of these installations in the State of Washington in 2010. That number is too high, and that is only the amount that is being reported. We know there may be many assaults that go unreported.

As my colleagues are saying, we need to do everything we can to address this problem. I am pleased that Joint Base Lewis-McChord is developing a sexual assault prevention program, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to act to address this epidemic problem. The men and women of our Armed Forces are basically defending our country, so why are we leaving them unprotected while they serve?

I have cosponsored legislation authored by my colleague the senior Senator from Washington to provide special victims' counsel to victims of sexual assault. This will ensure that professionals trained in dealing with sexual assault are there to support the victims.

There may be differing opinions on how best to achieve the overall goals of reducing sexual assault in the military, but I believe all my colleagues can agree on one common goal: protecting the victims from further abuse. We need to put an end to an environment that allows sexual assault to occur and that lets the perpetrators go unpunished and discourages victims of sexual assault through fear and intimidation. Again, we may differ on how to best achieve that goal, but we are all here to say the same thing: Enough is enough. We will not tolerate sexual assault in the military and Armed Forces, and we owe it to our servicemembers to come together and act toward a solution today. That is why my colleagues are here--to emphasize this point in a way that speaks volumes about how this tragedy is affecting men and women in the armed services and the fact that this institution needs to come together to address it.

I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.

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