Protect Our Defenders supports lawsuit vs. DOD for failure to protect cadets at academies from rape or sexual assault

Protect Our Defenders is supporting a new lawsuit released today accusing the US Military of failing to protect cadets from rape or sexual assault. The press release reads in part:

The cases of the two plaintiffs in the lawsuit, 20-year-old plaintiff Karley Leah Marquet, a former cadet at the United States Military Academy, and 22-year-old Anne Elisabeth Kendzior, a former cadet at the United States Naval Academy have disturbing similarities. Both involve intensive peer pressure to consume alcohol. And neither has yet to result in any actions taken against the alleged perpetrators.

This follows a pattern of the academies’ failure in this regard, as disclosed in the 2011 DOD annual report on “ Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies.” The report (PDF) finds West Point out of compliance with the DOD’s sexual assault prevention policy and that the academies in general have failed to implement and enforce DOD policy.

Read the full press release here and the full lawsuit here.