Senator Boxer: A Step Forward on Military Sexual Assault

Statement

Dear Friend:

Yesterday, the Senate passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which included my bipartisan amendment to help protect victims of sexual assault from abusive treatment during pre-trial proceedings. To read my statement on this important reform of Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, please click here.

I am so pleased that victims of military sexual assault will no longer have to endure vicious and invasive questioning during a marathon pre-trial interrogation that has no parallel in the civilian world. But make no mistake, until these vicious crimes are handled outside the chain of command, we won't have truly fixed this broken system. When the Senate returns next year I look forward to proudly casting my vote for the bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act that I introduced with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to ensure that decisions about whether to prosecute sexual assault cases are made by trained, independent prosecutors -- not commanders.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer

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