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More than 200,000 women serve in the U.S. military, and they should be able to serve in any position for which they’re qualified, be safe from sexual assault and harassment, and receive critical family supports.
Sexual Assault and Harassment in the Military
Sexual assault and harassment are serious problems in the military. To end criminal behavior and ensure we have the best military possible, it’s vital that we improve efforts to prevent and respond to assault and harassment.
What’s at Stake Today
Despite heightened attention to sexual assault in the military, it remains a serious problem, as does sexual harassment, which has not received the attention it deserves. In both instances, until perpetrators see that they’ll be held accountable, under a fair adjudicatory system, we aren’t likely to see a significant reduction in assaults or harassment.
What Is NWLC Doing?
It’s time to stand up for survivors of sexual assault and harassment ― and fix a system that’s not working.
The military justice system needs real reform. We advocate for legislation that would reform the military justice system by moving the decision-making on whether and how to prosecute sexual assault out of the chain of command and giving these decisions to experienced military prosecutors.
The military system for preventing and responding to sexual harassment, which often escalates to sexual assault, needs reform, too. We advocate for improvements in the system that have proved effective in the federal civilian workforce, including independent decision-making and rights of appeal.
Combat Assignments
Women serve in combat in the air, at sea, and on the ground. Competence, not gender, should always be the key factor in military assignments.
What’s at Stake Today
The Secretary of Defense made history by announcing the end of government-sanctioned sex discrimination in military assignments. As we have urged for years, all military positions are to be open to women in 2016, no exceptions. These jobs should be open in reality, not just on paper.
What Is NWLC Doing?
We advocate that military women should be full partners with their male counterparts in our nation’s defense. This means the military should ensure that it has validated, gender-neutral standards for all jobs, and both women and men should compete for them.
If we want the best military in the world ― and we do ― the military should ensure there are no barriers to the service of women and fully utilize the talents and potential of 100 percent of the population.
Military Families
Military women ― like other working women ― need critical supports like health care and child care. In many respects, military women have better supports than civilian women, but in several respects they do not.
What’s At Stake Today
The military health care system does not guarantee women service members or dependents of service members the health care coverage now available to civilian women and dependents under the Affordable Care Act. Military women and men are also not entitled to equal family leave for the birth or adoption of a child, and military pregnancy policies need improvements. The military child care system, while in many respects a model for the nation, needs additional resources.
What is NWLC Doing?
We advocate for legislation to improve health care coverage for military women and dependents, for changes in leave policies for child birth and adoption for both military women and military men, for improvements in military pregnancy policies, and for additional resources for military child care.
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