August 25, 2020

Duckworth Joins Roundtable on Military Sexual Trauma

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today participated in a virtual roundtable discussion with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs about military sexual trauma and the work she’s doing to prevent sexual assault and harassment in the military. Duckworth was joined by former Ambassador and Distinguished Fellow at the Council, Fay Hartog-Levin.

“Sexual assault is a crisis in our nation’s military that impacts the lives of far too many women and men in uniform,” Duckworth said. “The military’s inability to address this problem fails survivors and harms our military’s readiness, recruitment and retention efforts. I’m glad I was able to join Ambassador Hartog-Levin and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs today to have this important discussion, and I’ll keep working to help make sure we’re doing all that we can to prevent military sexual assault and harassment.”

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Duckworth has been a strong advocate for improving the military’s handling of sexual assault. Last year Duckworth questioned military leaders on the increase in the number of sexual assaults reported and why significant barriers are in place that can prevent survivors from reporting incidents. Duckworth has also helped introduce the Servicemember and Veterans’ Empowerment and Support Act, which expands the definition of military sexual trauma and lowers the burden of proof for survivors, as well as the Coast Guard Sexual Misconduct Prevention Act to create a committee to advise the Department of Homeland Security on how to prevent sexual misconduct in the Coast Guard. 

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