Received this e-mail from Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D. NH):
In November, a jury convicted a lieutenant colonel of aggravated sexual assault. His commanding officer then unilaterally overturned the guilty verdict – without ever attending the trial or even interviewing the victim.
No victim of such a horrific crime should ever be treated with such disregard.
I wrote Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel asking him to investigate this travesty of justice. An estimated 19,000 sexual assaults occur in the military each year. Of those, only about 300 even make it to trial. This is shamefully out of balance.
Please join Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, EMILY’s List and me to urge Congress to act now to reform our military justice system.
Click here to sign our petition and speak out for the tens of thousands of victims of sexual assault in our military. These brave servicewomen and men deserve justice and our full support:
http://www.democratsenators.org/...
Last week, the Senate held its first hearings on this issue in nearly 10 years. There’s been too little action for far too long.
During those hearings, we heard compelling testimony from both women and men about the horrible experiences they endured, followed by a lack of action and support from their superiors.
It’s shocking that one out of three convicted sexual offenders is allowed to remain in the military.
By joining us today, you can help change the culture in our military that allows criminals to go free and victims to suffer further abuse.
Sign our petition now and demand that Congress deal with the crisis of sexual assault in our military. Tell them we won’t wait another 10 years for action on this issue:
http://www.democratsenators.org/...
Last week’s hearing was disturbing and upsetting, but it has provided us with an opportunity to make real change for the victims and potential victims of sexual assault. Let’s not miss this chance.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Shaheen
You can sign Shaheen's petition here:
http://www.democratsenators.org/...
I wrote about Shaheen taking action on this a little while ago:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Glad to see Shaheen continuing this fight to stop sexual assault to our women who serve.