The U.S. military is being sued by two advocacy groups for sexual assault records as well as records pertaining to the military justice system, ABC News reports.
The two groups, Protect Our Defenders and the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, demanding the release of records “related to gender disparities within the military justice system and the military record correction boards’ handling of cases involving sexual assault and harassment.”
The groups say that so far they have filed several Freedom of Information Act requests, but the responses they have received from the various military services regarding these requests have been “insufficient.”
“The military has resisted efforts to end the epidemic of sexual assault and retaliation within its ranks, despite years of Congressional attention and reform. Service members, Members of Congress, and the public deserve to know if the military unlawfully discriminates against female service members and survivors of sexual assault,” the president of Protect Our Defenders, Colonel Don Christensen, said.
The records the two advocacy groups are requesting are separate from the sexual assault data the Department of Defense released publicly. Earlier this year, the department released their annual sexual assault report which estimated that between 2014 and 2016 the number of sexual assaults decreased 26.6 percent.
The filing was applauded by Senator Richard Blumenthal who is a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees. He expressed hope that “this suit, combined with legislative action will begin to break down the unacceptable barriers to justice too many victims face.”
Blumenthal added that victims of military sexual assaults need to be guaranteed justice “and openness in discharge proceedings,” which far too many are deprived of and “re-victimized by dishonorable discharges.”
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