Sen. Martha McSally pushes to criminalize sexual harassment in military, add lawyers for victims

Sen. Martha McSally, who was sexually assaulted
while serving in the Air Force, will push legislation to focus on criminalizing
sexual harassment in the ranks and ensure that each military base has a lawyer
who advocates for victims, she told USA TODAY in an interview.
McSally, an Arizona Republican on the Armed Services
Committee and retired Air Force attack plane pilot, also said she stands by the
commanders' traditional role as the arbiter of prosecutions for sexual assault.
That stance puts her at odds with fellow committee member Sen. Kirsten
Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
"Look, I appreciate her passion and advocacy on
this issue over the years," McSally said. "But she’s not served in
the military. There’s a unique role of the commander that is so important for
our military."
In March, McSally revealed during a Senate hearing
that she had been raped by a superior officer and that she felt re-victimized
by Air Force officials who questioned her about it. She has gone on to push the
military to establish a task force charged with recommending substantive
changes to the way the military combats sexual assault. The time was ripe: last
week, the Pentagon announced an estimated 20,500 troops had been sexually
assaulted in 2018, a 38% increase compared with 2016.
McSally spoke with USA TODAY about the critical role
of commanders in dealing with sexual assault, top recommendations from the task
force and why she's best suited to lead Congress on dealing with sexual
assault.
Her defense of a commanders' prerogative to
prosecute sexual assault cases puts her at odds with Gillibrand and on the same
page as Pentagon leadership. In an op-ed in Thursday's USA TODAY, Elizabeth Van
Winkle, who oversees the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention and response
efforts, wrote that commanders make those decisions on the advice of lawyers
and cannot overrule them without review by superior officers.
"A commander standing in front of their force
with the power to criminally charge them for not abiding by orders is an
extremely powerful tool within the military," Van Winkle wrote.
Gillibrand's staffs say the Pentagon has promised
action on sexual assault for years but has not come close to its goal of
"zero tolerance."
"The senator has been proud to fight alongside
retired military leaders and commanders plus so many brave survivors who know
firsthand what needs to be done to fix this broken system," said her
spokeswoman, Whitney Brennan.
McSally disputed the notion that the increase in sexual
assaults within the ranks is linked to commanders' authority to prosecute the
cases. She advocates maintaining that authority and ensuring commanders have
the best prosecutors and investigators advising them.
"It’s not going to fix the problem to strip
commanders," McSally said. "In fact, I think it would exacerbate the
problem because they would feel less accountable and less responsible."
She also plans to propose legislation that would
criminalize sexual harassment. Troops can be prosecuted for sexual harassment
under the part of military law that governs good order and discipline. The
recommendation to make it a specific crime is one of the top recommendations of
the task force. The risk of assault increases when sexual harassment is
tolerated.
"It’s a great idea to separate and specifically
criminalize sexual harassment," McSally said. "It shows commitment to
saying we’re not going to tolerate this. It also allows us to track those who
have had any kind of punishment related to sexual harassment, potentially the
early sign of somebody who has behavior that’s on what they call the continuum
of harm."
Another recommendation to be included in her
legislation would assign lawyers known as special victims counsels to every
military base. Those lawyers advocate on the victims' behalf, she said, and
having one at each installation would allow the lawyer to be on hand as soon as
a report is made.
McSally's acknowledgement that she was herself a
victim of sexual assault in the military generated intense media interest and
the attention of Air Force officials. She granted a few interviews but, for the
most part, has kept a low profile and has not revealed the name of her
assailant or where the attack occurred. Her first-hand experience, she said,
gives her a unique perspective in the Senate.
"Not only do I have 26 years of experience in
the military and in the ninth class of women at the Air Force Academy, I’ve
been a commander myself," McSally said. "I’m also a military sexual
assault survivor myself. I don’t come at my positions lightly. This is
something I have personally experienced as a crime.
"I’ve seen where the system has failed in the
past. I’ve seen the impact of these crimes on our military. I think I bring the
credibility and the passion and the experience to be able to lead on this issue
and to hold our military accountable. It’s not just lip service. It’s actual
action that’s going to keep our men and women safe when they sign up to serve.
And we’re going to hold people accountable for these crimes."