House Moves to Curb Sex Assault in the Military

House Democrats, intent on sending the Pentagon what one member called “a strong message that it is a new day,” introduced legislation Wednesday designed to assess and reduce sexual harassment and assault in the military, and ensure better treatment of victims of such abuse.

“The military’s best-kept secret--rampant sexual violence--is now out in the open,” said Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.), one of the leading backers of the new legislation. Independent estimates based on surveys of U.S. military personnel indicate that over the last 20 years, 5% of all females--as many as 60,000 women--have suffered some form of sexual violence while in the service, she said.

The legislation--in the form of non-binding “sense of Congress” bills--calls for the military services to standardize record-keeping of sexual harassment and assault complaints, and to adopt policies to protect women who come forward with such allegations.

The bills fall short of a more sweeping proposal expected to be introduced in the Senate soon by Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.) that would establish an independent agency to investigate all allegations of sexual harassment or assault by military personnel. But introduction of the House initiatives, many of which parallel Senate proposals, virtually ensure that behavior at the 1991 Tailhook convention will generate congressional directives for new Pentagon policies.

At the core of the Tailhook scandal are allegations that at least 26 women were groped and fondled by males who formed a gantlet in a hotel hallway in Las Vegas.

“We are going to try to put the summer of ’92 behind us, and we are going to start trying to treat women with equal citizenship rights, as they are being exposed to all sorts of danger,” Schroeder said.

The dangers that women in the service face include charges of homosexuality--and resulting discharge from the service--when they come forward with allegations, Schroeder said.

The Government Accounting Office has told Congress that eight times as many women as men have been dismissed from the service for homosexuality. Schroeder suggested that men accused of sexual harassment have retaliated by accusing their alleged victims of homosexuality.

Dangers also exist when a woman in the service seeks treatment or counseling for a sexual assault. In recent months, dozens of women veterans have complained they were sexually assaulted during their service, and received poor treatment when they sought help in Veterans Administration hospitals. Schroeder said that one of the proposed bills would allow such victims to receive priority care for the effects of such a “service-related disability.”