Lois Frankel: “The women of the Democratic Women's Working Group are here today with other Members that we have invited to raise…”

“The women of the Democratic Women's Working Group are here today with other Members that we have invited to raise awareness about the offensive Marines United Facebook page and others like it. On these pages, male marines posted nude or intimate photos of female servicemembers and veterans without their consent. This affected hundreds of women, with an audience of an estimated 30,000 marines with access to the Facebook page. The Democratic women recently held a hearing on this alarming situation which, incidentally, began less than a month after the first Marine infantry unit was assigned women, and that was January 5. At our hearing, we heard testimony from advocates for servicemembers, a former marine, and a journalist who covered this issue extensively, and most importantly, we heard from Erika Butner and Marisa Woytek, two brave, resilient marines. Marisa is a current lance corporal. She proudly followed in her father's footsteps, and she joined the Marines because, as she stated, she wanted to be part of something bigger than herself. Erika enlisted in the Marines for many of the same reasons in 2011, fully aware that she could be deployed to a combat zone. A lifelong patriot, she was ready, and willing to take that chance.…”