Mazie Hirono: “since the infamous Tailhook scandal in 1991, every Secretary of Defense has proclaimed that our military has a…”

“since the infamous Tailhook scandal in 1991, every Secretary of Defense has proclaimed that our military has a ``zero-tolerance'' policy for sexual harassment and sexual assault. Zero tolerance is the policy our military should have, but in reality it doesn't. We know it doesn't because we have heard too many stories from women and men in the military who have been attacked, assaulted, or raped by their peers in uniform or by their superiors. We have heard too many stories in which the assailants go unpunished. We have heard too many stories about commanding officers using their authority to set aside court-martial convictions or to decide simply not to have a trial at all. We have heard too many stories about survivors being drummed out of the service by misinformed diagnoses of mental illness or by a chain of command that ignores the assailant and instead turns around and charges the survivor with bad behavior. We have heard too many stories about survivors who are so disillusioned by this broken system that they don't even bother to report these crimes. Instead, these men and women, warriors all, are forced to live in silence and with an unjust feeling of shame. We all agree that commanders are responsible for maintaining good order and discipline in their units. This includes creating an atmosphere of dignity and respect for everyone under their command. Commanders must create an environment where sexual crimes do not occur.…”