Today's Date: March 28, 2024
Key Piece of “Titanic” Movie Memorabilia Purchased By Titanic Museum Attraction   •   Paralyzed Veterans of America to honor former Senator Elizabeth Dole with 2024 Gordon H. Mansfield Congressional Leadership Awar   •   PMI Foods Gives Easter Donation of 15,000 Pounds of Prime Rib to New Life Church in Arkansas   •   Consolidated Credit Launches Free Webinar Series to Empower Individuals During Challenging Economic Climate   •   Pushing Policy: Women Uniting for Legislative Change; Four Trailblazing women at the forefront of the Quad Caucus   •   Scotiabank ranks on The Globe and Mail's annual Women Lead Here benchmark of executive gender diversity for the fourth consecuti   •   Impact Communications Signs Best-Selling Book Author and Financial Advisor Coach Derrick Kinney   •   80 M/other Artists Converge for MICAfest 2024 in Northampton, MA this May   •   Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. Expands OTC Portfolio for Children with the Introduction of bébé Bottoms™   •   Gale Primary Sources Release Four New Archives Devoted to Contributions from Underrecognized Communities   •   BNSF Railway builds upon safety record by utilizing virtual reality for training   •   New Report Shows Massachusetts Customers Could Have Saved Hundreds of Millions in 2024 Through Competitive Energy Supply   •   Argonne-Supported Critical Materials Assessment Tags Potential Supply Chain Bottlenecks   •   More $10-a-day child care spaces   •   UC Berkeley FHL Vive Center Teams Up with BeamNG   •   Chevron Announces Opening of Fab Labs at HBCUs   •   University of Phoenix Receives Arizona Veteran Supportive Campus Recertification   •   JAMS Diversity Fellowship Accepting Applications   •   Impacts of Extreme Weather on Interior Design Examined in New Research   •   Bill Introduced in Minnesota Would Increase Access To Genetic Testing
Bookmark and Share

ACLU Sues Military Over Sexual Assaults

 NEW HAVEN, CT – The Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Connecticut have filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut against the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs for their failure to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests seeking government records documenting incidents of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military. Tens of thousands of service members each year are estimated to have experienced some form of military sexual trauma (MST). These acts occur nearly twice as often within military ranks as they do within civilian society.

"The government's refusal to even take the first step of providing comprehensive and accurate information about the sexual trauma inflicted upon our women and men in uniform, and the treatment and benefits MST survivors receive after service, is all too telling," said Anuradha Bhagwati, a former Marine captain and Executive Director of SWAN. "The DOD and VA should put the interests of service members first and expose information on the extent of sexual trauma in the military to the sanitizing light of day."

The lawsuit states that the goal of the lawsuit is to "obtain the release of records on a matter of public concern, namely, the prevalence of MST within the armed services, the policies of the DOD and VA regarding MST and other related disabilities, and the nature of each agency's response to MST."

"The known statistics on military sexual trauma suggest that sexual abuse is all too prevalent in our military," said Sandra Park, staff attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "But we know that many service members who suffer from abuse are not receiving the treatment they need. The truth about the extent of this abuse and what has been done to address it must be made known."

MST is particularly widespread among servicewomen, many of whom struggle to return to civilian life after suffering sexual assault or harassment while serving. While the number of homeless veterans has declined over the past 10 years, the number of homeless women veterans has doubled. In fact, 40 percent of homeless women veterans have been sexually assaulted while serving in the armed forces.

Survivors' VA disability claims are often rejected because they cannot prove an initial assault or rape, even if the veteran has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by a VA military sexual trauma counselor.

"The government is failing to care for the overwhelming number of women who so desperately need help coping with something as devastating as rape, sexual assault and harassment," said Andrew Schneider, Executive Director of the ACLU of Connecticut. "These women have already put their lives on the line by serving their country. The least that the government can do is disclose the scope of the problem."

Counsel on the case include William Bornstein, Taylor Asen and Michael Wishnie of the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic; Park and Lenora Lapidus of the ACLU Women's Rights Project; and Sandra Staub of the ACLU of Connecticut.

A copy of the lawsuit can be 
found here


STORY TAGS: WOMEN, MINORITIES, DISCRIMINATION, DIVERSITY, FEMALE, UNDERREPRESENTED, EQUALITY, GENDER BIAS, EQUALITY

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News