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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Assaulting sexual assault

The Obama administration issued aggressive guidelines to combat sexual assault on college campuses.

Meanwhile, reform of the way the military handles sexual assault among its own ranks continues to languish in Congress.

The measures include confidentiality for reporters of sexual assault, anonymous student surveys on sexual assault and other anti-assault measures universities have found successful.

They come mostly from a report on sexual assault issued by a task force formed by the administration earlier this year.

The administration also established Notalone.gov, a new government website tracking enforcement and offering information to victims of sexual assault.

These are important actions for the safety of college campuses nationwide. To many, they seem like common sense ideas, but sometimes common sense ideas are the easiest to overlook.

Sexual assaults in the military, however, remain unaddressed by this administration.

A bill seeking to expand options for individuals who are sexually assaulted in the military passed the Senate unanimously in March.

That bill has failed to move in the House of Representatives. The bill’s ability to unite the entire Senate is an indicator of its minor scope.

Though it offers victims new options and strengthens the rules of evidence in sexual assault proceedings, it leaves the military justice system intact.

Cases of military sexual assault will still be tried in military tribunals, not civilian courts.

If the commander-in-chief can unilaterally issue new, more effective guidelines for U.S. universities, surely he can do so for the U.S. military.

Sexual assault on a campus is no more or less heinous than sexual assault on a military base.

Sexual assault on university campuses is endemic in this country. According to the White House task force, one in five women in college will be a victim of sexual assault.

Statistics on sexual assault in the military are unreliable in that they represent a culture unfriendly to reporting.

In a 12-month period beginning in June 2012, members of the U.S. Armed Forces were 15 times more likely to be sexually assaulted — and report it — than to be killed by an enemy.

The expansion of the options to victims is a start, but these cases need to be taken out of the military justice system.

The U.S. military needs to be reminded that it serves at the will of the people and within the scope of their discipline, not beyond it.

Clearly, the U.S. military needs reform just as desperately as U.S. colleges.

When we applaud the members of our armed forces for their sacrifices on our behalf, it should be for their willingness to fight for our country, not their assumption of the risk of sexual assault.


drlreed@indiana.edu
@D_L_Reed

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