Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Schools U.S. Generals on Their Shitty Attitudes About Sexual Assault
Latest
According to the Pentagon, approximately 19,000 sexual assaults occur in the military each year and of that 19,000, about 16,600 go unreported because victims fear retaliation, ostracism or a fallout like the one that occurred at the Aviano Air Base in Italy where fighter pilot Lt. Col. James Wilkerson sexually assaulted a female physician’s assistant and was tried and found guilty, only to then have the ruling over turned and the case dismissed by authority Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin.
Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel convened in Washington to discuss the issue of sexual assault in the military — particularly the Aviano case — and hear victims’ testimonies as well as the defense of the top military brass. The hearing was the first of its kind to occur in 10 years.