US House panel moves to curb military sexual assaults

WASHINGTON (AP):

Members of a House panel angry over the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the military took a key step towards tackling the problem by passing legislation yesterday that would strip commanding officers of their long-standing authority to unilaterally change or dismiss court-martial convictions in rape and assault cases. Lawmakers believe the revision will lead to a cultural shift and encourage victims to step forward.

The legislation, which will be folded into a broader defence policy bill that the full House will consider in the coming weeks, also would impose harsher penalties on service members found guilty of sexual offences by requiring that they be dismissed or dishonourably discharged.

The moves by the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee reflect outrage on Capitol Hill over the poor results military leaders have achieved in their efforts to combat sexual assault in the ranks.

A Pentagon report released earlier this month estimated that up to 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year and that thousands of victims are still unwilling to come forward despite new oversight and assistance programmes aimed at curbing the crimes.

The report showed the number of sexual assaults actually reported by members of the military rose six per cent to 3,374 in 2012. But a survey of personnel who were not required to reveal their identities showed the number of service members actually assaulted could be as high as 26,000. That figure is an increase over the 19,000 estimated assaults in 2011.