The Military Justice Improvement Act: A Winning Solution

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Recommended: Brief summary of sexual assault in the military

Shortly after the attack on the World Trader, twenty one year old Stephanie Schroeder joined the United States Marine Corps. In 2002 she was beaten and raped by a fellow Marine in a bathroom, and incident that would cause the end of her military career. When she tried to report the crime, a non commissioned officer told her, “Don’t come bitching to me because you had sex and changed your mind” (Martin). Shortly after, she was diagnosed with a personality disorder that she claims was given to her because she tried to report the incident. Stephanie Schroeder’s story is the reason why many victims of sexual assault in the military choose not to report the crime. They believe that the crime will not be investigated, and they fear retaliation from not just their comrades, but their superiors as well.
Under the recent Military Justice Improvement Act (MIJA), however, victims of sexual assault will no longer have to keep the crime committed against them a secret because of these fears. This bill, developed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, removes sexual assault cases from the military chain of command. This is the most acceptable solution to decrease sexual assault in the United States military, because it encourages victims to seek prosecution instead of keeping the crime a secret. The MIJA benefits not only military personnel, but American society.
“No where in America would we allow a boss to decide if an employee has been sexuaully assaulted, except in the U.S. military,” said Kirsten Gillibrand, referring to the fact that service people that are sexually assaulted can only report the crime to their commander (O’Neill). Gillibrand believes that this is a prime contributor to the epidemic of sexual assault in the military. Her bill, t...

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...p a measly 14% of military personnel (US Commission of Civil Rights), so the fact that the MIJA may encourage more women to join is an another reason why it should be implemented.
Sexual assault of service people, committed by other service people, in the United States military is a tragic and dangerous epidemic. Victims are overwhelmingly not reporting sexual assaults, which is a leading cause of the problem of sexual assault. The Military Justice Improvement Act, a bill sponsored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, will encourage more victims to seek prosecution, because under the bill, they can report the crime to someone not in their chain of command. This bill would benefit American society in addition to its military, and until it is put into action, sexual assault of military service people, committed by other service people, will continue to run rampant.

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