Sexual Assault in The United States Military - Lawsuits Against The Department of Defense

Lawsuits Against The Department of Defense

In February 2011, seventeen United States veterans filed suit against the Pentagon and defense secretary Robert Gates and former secretary Donald Rumsfeld, alleging that they allowed a culture in the military where rape was unevenly reported and punished. In several of the plaintiffs' cases, the victim was forced to work with the accused rapist after reporting them for sexual assault. Unit commanders often have heavy influence over military rape cases, and less than one in five cases are prosecuted.

Read more about this topic:  Sexual Assault In The United States Military

Famous quotes containing the words department and/or defense:

    ... the Department of Justice is committed to asking one central question of everything we do: What is the right thing to do? Now that can produce debate, and I want it to be spirited debate. I want the lawyers of America to be able to call me and tell me: Janet, have you lost your mind?
    Janet Wood Reno (b. 1938)

    From a bed in this hotel Seargent S. Prentiss arose in the middle of the night and made a speech in defense of a bedbug that had bitten him. It was heard by a mock jury and judge, and the bedbug was formally acquitted.
    —Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)