Last year’s defense authorization bill included a groundbreaking change to military justice that calls for sexual assault accusations to be handled outside the chain of command. But a bipartisan group on Capitol Hill has continued to fight to also remove sexual harassment accusations from the chain of command.
“As long as sexual harassment courts-martial continue to be handled through the military chain of command, victims’ voices will be stifled and overwhelmed by a system stacked against them at every turn,” said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), according to Military.com.
Speier chairs the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel. The new measure would bring last year’s advancements “over the finish line,” said Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).
Oklahoma National Guard photo of Rep. Mullin by Maj. Geoff Legler
