Political Quotes

“earlier this year, as many others were, I was shocked when the Department of Defense released a stunning report about the increase in sexual assault among the branches of the Armed Forces. Sexual assault in the military is neither a new issue, nor an uncommon one. It has been a problem for decades. Its occurrence is a stain on the honor of our military and Nation that we must all work to eliminate. Military bases are where our troops are supposed to be safe, and to know that they risk being in harm's way not only when deployed but among their fellow servicemembers as well is horrible. I have worked hard to bring greater attention to the ongoing problem of sexual violence in our communities and am proud of the significant improvements we made in the recent reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act earlier this year. It is time we bring the same level of attention to the crisis on our military bases. While this epidemic is not representative of the vast majority of our service men and women, who serve honorably and conduct themselves commensurate with our expectations of those in uniform, it is also not isolated to just a handful of bad actors. We can no longer ignore that the time is long overdue for meaningful changes to help end sexual assault and harassment in the ranks of our Armed Forces. We must work together to protect victims and provide appropriate help and support and to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are held accountable.…”