Law would protect military assault victims

WASHINGTON, April 14 (UPI) -- A women's advocacy group says proposed legislation to protect victims of sexual assault in the U.S. military is a step in the right direction.

The legislation introduced Wednesday would provide victims access to legal services, let them transfer to other jobs to escape their attackers and guarantee that private counseling sessions wouldn't be used against them in court, the military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported.

Sexual assault victims "are given few privileges, and barely any freedom of movement to flee their perpetrators," said Anu Bhagwati, executive director of the Service Women's Action Network. "In a system that is entirely built on rank and intimidation, it is no wonder that survivors do not come forward more often about the most brutal and horrifying experience of their lives."

The legislation sponsored by Reps. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., is the same as previously unsuccessful measures introduced in recent years. It also copies some proposals recommended internally by a Pentagon sexual assault task force.

"These are not radical proposals," Turner said. "These are common sense policies that most people already think should be in place. This is how you protect a victim.

The Department of Defense said more than 3,150 military sexual assaults were reported in 2010, down about 2 percent from 2009.