Protect Our Defenders News Blog

 

STATEMENT: Protect Our Defenders sets story straight on Dept. of Defense definition of “unwanted sexual contact.” Does not include sexual harrasment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2013 Contact: Brian Purchia, brian@protectourdefenders.com

  *** STATEMENT  *** 

PROTECT OUR DEFENDERS SETS STORY STRAIGHT ON DOD’S DEFINITION OF UNWANTED SEXUAL CONTACT IN THE MILITARY. DOES NOT INCLUDE SEXUAL HARASSMENT.

Washington DC – Today, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) spoke about the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the United States Military, on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Senator McCaskill incorrectly stated that some of the 26,000 reports of “unwanted sexual contact” in the military last year included instances of verbal sexual harassment. This is not true.

Senator McCaskill voted against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-NY) Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA) last week.

Today, Protect Our Defenders President Nancy Parrish released the followingstatement:

“Today on MSNBC, in a response to a question about the increasing crisis of military sexual assaults, Senator Claire McCaskill incorrectly asserted that the 26,000 ‘unwanted sexual contacts’ includes ‘…somebody looking at you sideways and saying something about how nice you look in a sweater.’ This is not accurate.

Read the full statement.