We wanted to share an opportunity to take action for important legislative provisions that will help protect women and men in the military from sexual violence and hold those who have committed crimes accountable. Joyful Heart, along with women’s rights organizations across the country, stands with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in support of the Military Justice Improvement Act, S. 967.

This legislation, which has the broad bi-partisan support of 36 Senate co-sponsors, would remove sexual assault cases from the military’s chain of command. Currently, individuals must report the incident to a commanding officer, entrusting that officer to move the investigation and prosecution forward. This process often invites conflicts of interest and abuses of power. Victims are fearful of reporting their rapes, especially when the perpetrator is a higher-ranking officer. Further, even after a jury finds a defendant guilty, a commanding officer has the discretion to overturn that verdict. By placing sexual assault cases solely in the hands of independent, trained military prosecutors, survivors in the military will get fairer trials that are free of bias and intimidation.

The legislation would also prohibit a service member’s military record from being used as evidence to prove reasonable doubt as to whether a case has enough merit to proceed to trial. Often times, a perpetrator’s actions are excused due to exemplary service within the military.

Sexual assault in the military is endemic and it is clear that a change is necessary. The Pentagon estimates that approximately 26,000 instances of unwanted sexual conduct occurred last year, which was a 37 percent increase from 2011. Of those 26,000 incidents, as many as 22,000 were not reported due to fear of retaliation and potential negative impacts for survivors’ careers.

While we applaud the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee for already passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will bring sexual assault training and prevention, Congress must go further to protect the women and men who serve this country and pass the Military Justice Improvement Act. Senator Gillibrand plans to introduce the Act as an amendment to NDAA on the Senate floor as early as this month. As the Senator stated, “What our strong and growing bipartisan coalition has shown is that ending sexual assaults in the military… is not a partisan or ideological issue. Our carefully crafted common sense proposal… is not a Democratic or Republican idea – it is just the right idea.”

We urge you to contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the Military Justice Improvement Act to ensure that professional military prosecutors are responsible for investigating and prosecuting sexual assaults. As Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has said, “We’ve been talking about this issue for years and talk is insufficient.”