Congress has directed several major changes to the way the military handles sexual assault. Officials say full implementation remains several years away.
Congress has directed several major changes to the way the military handles sexual assault. Officials say full implementation remains several years away.
Mr. Austin endorsed the central set of recommendations put forward by that panel.
“It provides us real opportunities to finally end the scourge of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military,” he said. “First, we will work with Congress to amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice, removing the prosecution of sexual assaults and related crimes from the military chain of command.”
“The IRC recommended the inclusion of other special victims’ crimes inside this independent prosecution system, to include domestic violence,” the secretary said. “I support this as well, given the strong correlation between these sorts of crimes and the prevalence of sexual assault.”