Attorney General Doug Peterson helped lead a bipartisan coalition of 29 attorneys general calling on Congress to pass the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act of 2021. This would reshape the manner in which the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assaults.
A letter was sent today that highlights the need for address longstanding problems. The Act would professionalize the military’s prosecution and address widespread reluctance to report sexual assault. It would ensure that decisions about whether to prosecute crimes are made by independent, trained professional military prosecutors.
The Act also requires increased sexual assault prevention training and added instruction for prosecutors on the proper conduct, presentation, and handling of sexual assault and domestic violence cases. If passed, the Act would constitute the largest change to the military justice system in the last 70 years.
A release shows that thousands of service members experience sexual assault each year. Only a small percentage are reported, often due to the fear of retaliation. In some cases the assailant is someone in the service member’s chain of command and it creates an additional risk. Approximately 9% of assaults result in conviction.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined Peterson in leading this coalition. Attorneys general of Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming joined in calling on Congress to pass the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act.