Turner seeks more federal justice for sexually assaulted U.S. service members

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) on June 5 sponsored a bipartisan bill to improve protections for victims of sexual assault in the U.S. Armed Forces.

“This bill is a strong step forward in continuing to improve the safety of our men and women in uniform and the culture of the military,” Rep. Turner said on Wednesday.

Rep. Turner unveiled the Sexual Trauma Ongoing Protections (STOP) Act of 2019, H.R. 3148, with cosponsor U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA). The lawmakers are co-chairs of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus.

“The Department of Defense has come a long way in its handling of military sexual assault,” said Rep. Turner. “However, each year, we learn of additional loopholes in our protections for military sexual assault victims — loopholes that can have tragic consequences. As such, we are continuing to address these issues directly through our bipartisan legislation.”

If enacted, H.R. 3148 aims to increase fairness of military judicial proceedings, according to a summary provided by the congressman’s office, and would require a report identifying the number of military protective orders issued and the number reported to the appropriate civilian authorities in a preceding calendar year.

Additionally, the bill would require regulations be established for the military to more quickly consider the applications for transfer of a military service academy student who is the victim of sexual assault, the summary says.

Among several other provisions in H.R. 3148, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) would be tasked with developing a policy to protect victims’ ability to file a restricted report if their sexual assault allegation is inadvertently disclosed or a third-party report arises, according to the summary.

The proposal has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.