Stop Military Rape

Floor Speech

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, as I have done virtually every week, to tell a story of a man or a woman in the military who has been raped. Nineteen thousand are raped every year in the military. Only 13 percent report the rapes because there has been such an ineffective addressing of this issue. So today, I rise again to tell another story.

I hear from victims who have been sharing their stories with me by emailing me at stopmilitaryrape@mail.house.gov. It is time for us to act. We have known of this problem for over 16 years. We have had 18 hearings and reports on this issue, and yet nothing changes.

So today I'm going to tell you about Darchelle Mitchell, an airman. And she writes: ``I never thought that I would be a victim of such a horrible and traumatic event, nor did I believe that it would occur under the blanket of freedom I swore to fight for. I decided to serve my country as an example for my two boys and to do my share to better my Nation.

``In my first year, I began to accept the unwanted comments of my shape, size and looks as though it was part of something to deal with when working and living with men on a ship. It escalated to the uncomfortable motions by a superior trying to pull me into a two-manned rack that was in the office. I reported the incident to my immediate supervisors requesting that they speak with him, and the responses were always that the superior meant no harm and that he was just being playful. This led to my superior grabbing me by the top of my head and pushing it into his genital area, stating, ``I bet I can make you say `oh, God.' ''

``After the reporting of this incident, I suffered the backlash of being blackballed. My job assignments became very difficult, and I bounced around from command to command until someone was willing to take the chance to allow me to perform as an airman trying to advance.

``I worked very hard to remove the negative light that was cast upon me. I went on to advance to a dual-qualified second class petty officer in less than 3 years. Despite my efforts of advancing and volunteer services, the stigma remained with me.

``I decided to take orders to Italy and move my family to another country in an attempt to step away from the negative light. Within the first 3 months of my tour in Italy, I was raped by another servicemember. I did everything in accordance to the training provided by the military. I reported the incident to NCIS and suffered through a rape kit. My children were present and had to experience something that no parent could ever dream of allowing their children to go through.

``With his DNA found in my rape kit, his fingerprints found throughout my room, and ripped clothing, the servicemember was found not guilty. The explanation given to me was, `It is no question that his genitals touched your genitals, but it is reasonable to believe that he thought he had your consent.' From that, I was expected to return to work as if tomorrow was just another day. My superiors continued to treat me as if I brought shame to their command. The trauma was so overwhelming that I attempted to take my life on two occasions.

``Despite the constant reminder that the military is a man military, I graduated with my master's in business administration, volunteered at numerous organizations, and regained some confidence in my safety around people. This was not supposed to be the intended meaning of the sacrifices that veterans go through to serve their country.

``I pray that my experiences are not completely in vain and that one day no one will ever have to suffer what my family and I are still suffering.''

For Darchelle and every other servicemember, we must take steps to prevent this crime from happening and punish the perpetrators when it does. We should not be a country in which it is more likely to be taken into someone's room to be violated, to have violence committed against you by another member of the service, more likely than by the enemy.

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