Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have joined forces to advocate on behalf of sexual assault victims by improving the tracking and review of sexual assault cases in the military. There has been an increase in military reports of sexual assaults in recent years. In 2011, there were an estimated 19,000 sexual assault cases. In February 2012, CNN reported, “In the U.S. military, a woman is more likely to be raped by a co-worker than killed by the enemy.”
Klobuchar and Snowe’s proposed provisions call for a retention of sexual assault forms, ensuring that all veterans receive long-term access to their forensic examination records for the purpose of filing disability claims and pursuing criminal action against the perpetrator. Another provision would enhance and expand the Department of Defense’s annual report on sexual assault by requiring additional information to be included in each claim. Lastly, Klobuchar and Snowe seek to require the Department of Defense to establish a coordinated policy to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in addition to a procedure to facilitate the reporting of sexual harassment.
The two senators recently announced that these provisions have passed through the U.S. Senate.