[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 15, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H735-H736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           STOP MILITARY RAPE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise again today to highlight the 
epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the military.
  This issue was recently brought up on Fox News by a commentator who 
ignorantly declared that women who join the military should expect to 
be raped. Yes, believe it or not, this was what the commentator said. I 
don't think our women choose to enlist in the military with the 
expectation that they might get raped.
  This morning I'm going to tell you the story of U.S. marine Stephanie 
Schroeder, who was raped in a public restroom by a fellow marine. He 
shoved her down, beat her, and forced her on her back. He ripped down 
her pants and raped her. Then he ejaculated on her inner thigh and spit 
on her.
  Private Schroeder reported the rape to command. Her commander laughed 
at her and said don't come ``blankin'' to me because you had sex and 
changed your mind.

                              {time}  1100

  Don't come ``blankin'' to me? That's the response that was given to 
Private

[[Page H736]]

Schroeder. That was her leader. That was her commander saying that to 
her. Instead of helping her, her commander called her a liar and 
restricted her from seeking medical help or any type of counseling.
  And what's worse is that her commander did nothing illegal. The 
military judicial system allows commanders complete discretion for 
handling cases of rape and sexual assault. To the current standard of 
justice, the commander did absolutely nothing wrong.
  This story is one of thousands that happens in the military every 
year. By the Department of Defense's own statistics, 19,000 men and 
women are sexually assaulted or raped in the military every year. This 
is not a secret. Congress and the DOD have worked on this issue for a 
quarter of a century, but very little has changed.
  The issue has been treated like a game of tag. Congress calls a 
hearing and then, tag, DOD submits a report, then, tag, Congress has a 
hearing, then DOD has a press conference about a new report. The game 
goes on and on, but no real changes actually occur.
  Well, I have my own game. It's called ``Truth Or Dare.''
  First, truth: the women in our military are more likely to be raped 
or assaulted by colleagues than they are to be killed by the enemy.
  Truth: only 13.5 percent of victims report the crime.
  Truth: only 8 percent of the cases are actually prosecuted.
  Truth: the sole arbiters of reports of assaults in commands who 
decide which rapists are punished and will go free are, in fact, the 
commanders.
  And now, there's a dare. I dare the Department of Defense to create a 
better, fairer process for handling rapes and sexual assaults. Instead 
of continuing a system that punishes victims and sweeps sexual offenses 
under the rug, I dare the Department of Defense to create an impartial 
office to review and handle these cases with experts in prosecution and 
investigation.
  So what actually happened to Private Schroeder? Well, she got 
transferred away from her rapist to a new duty location. Prior to her 
arrival, her command called and told her new supervisor that she was a 
``troublemaker.''
  Two weeks after the transfer, her new superior made a pass at her. 
She refused to have sex with him, and he retaliated by publicly 
harassing her at work. When she contracted pink eye, he asked her in 
front of formation if she let a guy ejaculate in her eye.
  She reported the harassment to command. Nothing happened. A month 
later, she awoke to the same supervisor sexually assaulting her. Again, 
she reported it to her command.
  This time the command took action--against Private Schroeder. She was 
disciplined for having a man in her room. Private Schroeder, the victim 
of sexual assault, was punished after a sex offender broke into her 
room and harmed her.
  Private Schroeder learned not to report crimes committed against her. 
So 6 months later, when she was sexually assaulted again by a marine in 
a truck, she told no one how he attempted to have sex with her, or how, 
when she refused, he began to masturbate in front of her and locked the 
doors so she could not leave. He said, Show me your tits; and, Help me 
masturbate; and, You masturbate for me.
  This is outrageous conduct that should not be allowed in our 
military. For now, victims of rape and sexual assault must follow the 
chain of command, even if their commanding officer chooses to ignore 
the problem. We need to overhaul this system.
  I've introduced H.R. 3435, the STOP Act, that would take these cases 
out of the chain of command and create an office in the military that 
will handle them.
  I will continue to tell stories like Private Schroeder's until 
something changes. Survivors can email me at 
[email protected] if they would like to speak out.
  For more information about this issue and opportunities to advocate 
for change, please visit ProtectOurDefenders.com.

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