Anyone remember that wretched column George Will wrote in which he said that because of the federal government and "progressivism" that today on college campuses, calling yourself a victim of a sexual assault is now something of a badge of honor? Yesterday in the News, one of their columnists — a woman, I might add — said that the uproar over it was overheated.
Sexual assault is still a serious problem that must be addressed. While we still have a long way to go in terms of developing substantive solutions to preventing these crimes and tackling the negative stigma associated with sexual assault, elected officials across the country are taking steps forward to provide appropriate protections and care for survivors. Here are four ways elected officials across the country are working to bring justice to sexual assault survivors.
Though a majority was for it, the Senate could not garner the 60 votes needed to move a bill – sponsored by Kirsten Gillibrand and other Senate Democratic women – that would have placed military rape and other sexual assault trials outside the chain of command forward.
Students at the U.S. military academies often believe they have to put up with sexist and offensive behavior, a Pentagon report finds, reflecting a culture of disrespect that permeates the schools and their sports teams and fuels reports of sexual harassment and assaults.
A well-supported measure that advocates for transparency and impartiality in cases of U.S. military sexual assault has been shot down. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), with top military officials' support, decided late last night to eliminate Gillibrand's proposal from the Defense Authorization Act.
In Tuesday's Senate Armed Services committee hearing, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) defended rape and sexual assault that occurs in the military, saying, "The young folks coming in to each of your services are anywhere from 17 to 22 or 23. Gee-whiz, the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur. So, we've got to be very careful on our side."
An Air Force officer who led the branch's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit has been charged with groping a woman in a northern Virginia parking lot, authorities said Monday.
On November 6, voters went to the polls and decidedly shut down some of the most extreme and anti-choice candidates who were outspoken in their opposition to abortion care for survivors of rape or incest.
