Today’s Solutions: March 27, 2023

After eight years of effort, legislation to reshape and improve how the US military handles allegations of sexual misconduct appears to finally have enough bipartisan votes to gain passage. 

The bill called the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act would move sexual harassment and assault cases out of the military chain of command to instead be handled by trained military prosecutors. 

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a backer of the bill, says she believes the bill now has 60 bipartisan supporters in the Senate, enough to put it into law. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a combat veteran who was previously on the fence regarding the bill, has joined Gillibrand in backing it, encouraging other senators to follow suit. 

In addition to moving sexual misconduct cases out for third-party litigation, the bill would also institute preventive measures to combat sexual assault. 

Sexual assault and harassment consistently go underreported and unchecked in the US military. The Pentagon reported that in 2019, about 20,500 service members had experienced some form of sexual assault, but the internal management of these cases means many are ignored or denied altogether. 

Moving case management out of the chain of command means greater accountability for perpetrators of assault, especially high-ranking officials, and greater justice for victims whose voices have been silenced for too long. 

We will continue to follow this story and hopefully see it officially voted into law in the near future.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Removable solar panels might soon be rolled out on railway tracks

Solar panels are being laid out "like carpet" across Swiss train rails as part of the country's renewable energy initiative. Swiss startup company Sun-Ways ...

Read More

What cities can learn from Spokane’s approach to homelessness

The common approach cities take to deal with homelessness is tough enforcement: ticketing people for panhandling or sleeping in doorways or busing them to ...

Read More

How to have a conversation with someone you disagree with

Recent events in the United States underscore a deep trend towards polarization that is spreading throughout the country. As current events bring up strong ...

Read More

Eat this amount of fruit daily to significantly lower diabetes risk

As you may already know, fruit is an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals. A recent study, however, shows that just the right ...

Read More