[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 136 (Wednesday, September 14, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H6147-H6148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                           STOP MILITARY RAPE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, as I have done virtually every 
week, to tell a story of a man or a woman in the military who has been 
raped. Nineteen thousand are raped every year in the military. Only 13 
percent report the rapes because there has been such an ineffective 
addressing of this issue. So today, I rise again to tell another story.
  I hear from victims who have been sharing their stories with me by 
emailing me at [email protected]. It is time for us to 
act. We have known of this problem for over 16 years. We have had 18 
hearings and reports on this issue, and yet nothing changes.
  So today I'm going to tell you about Darchelle Mitchell, an airman. 
And she writes: ``I never thought that I would be a victim of such a 
horrible and traumatic event, nor did I believe that it would occur 
under the blanket of freedom I swore to fight for. I decided to serve 
my country as an example for my two boys and to do my share to better 
my Nation.
  ``In my first year, I began to accept the unwanted comments of my 
shape, size and looks as though it was part of something to deal with 
when working and living with men on a ship. It escalated to the 
uncomfortable motions by a superior trying to pull me into a two-manned 
rack that was in the office. I reported the incident to my immediate 
supervisors requesting that they speak with him, and the responses were 
always that the superior meant no harm and that he was just being 
playful. This led to my superior grabbing me by the top of my head and 
pushing it into his genital area, stating, ``I bet I can make you say 
`oh, God.' ''
  ``After the reporting of this incident, I suffered the backlash of 
being blackballed. My job assignments became very difficult, and I 
bounced around from command to command until someone was willing to 
take the chance to allow me to perform as an airman trying to advance.
  ``I worked very hard to remove the negative light that was cast upon 
me. I went on to advance to a dual-qualified

[[Page H6148]]

second class petty officer in less than 3 years. Despite my efforts of 
advancing and volunteer services, the stigma remained with me.
  ``I decided to take orders to Italy and move my family to another 
country in an attempt to step away from the negative light. Within the 
first 3 months of my tour in Italy, I was raped by another 
servicemember. I did everything in accordance to the training provided 
by the military. I reported the incident to NCIS and suffered through a 
rape kit. My children were present and had to experience something that 
no parent could ever dream of allowing their children to go through.
  ``With his DNA found in my rape kit, his fingerprints found 
throughout my room, and ripped clothing, the servicemember was found 
not guilty. The explanation given to me was, `It is no question that 
his genitals touched your genitals, but it is reasonable to believe 
that he thought he had your consent.' From that, I was expected to 
return to work as if tomorrow was just another day. My superiors 
continued to treat me as if I brought shame to their command. The 
trauma was so overwhelming that I attempted to take my life on two 
occasions.
  ``Despite the constant reminder that the military is a man military, 
I graduated with my master's in business administration, volunteered at 
numerous organizations, and regained some confidence in my safety 
around people. This was not supposed to be the intended meaning of the 
sacrifices that veterans go through to serve their country.
  ``I pray that my experiences are not completely in vain and that one 
day no one will ever have to suffer what my family and I are still 
suffering.''
  For Darchelle and every other servicemember, we must take steps to 
prevent this crime from happening and punish the perpetrators when it 
does. We should not be a country in which it is more likely to be taken 
into someone's room to be violated, to have violence committed against 
you by another member of the service, more likely than by the enemy.

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