[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6788]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT

  (Ms. KUSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, sexual assault in the military has reached a 
crisis point. A recent report from the Department of Defense found that 
the number of servicemembers who have experienced unwanted sexual 
contact has increased by more than 30 percent over the past 2 years, 
from 19,000 to 26,000 people.
  These numbers are staggering, but they're more than just statistics. 
Behind every number is the story of a member of our armed services who 
stepped forward to serve our country. They're people like my 
constituent, Judy Atwood-Bell, a Hudson, New Hampshire resident who 
enlisted in the Army at age 17 to further her education and live the 
American Dream. At 19, Judy was raped by a fellow soldier and suffered 
sexual harassment in silence throughout her career. After 20 years of 
service, she sought help and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD related 
to military sexual trauma.
  Our military leadership, the chain of command, and the Veterans 
Administration failed to protect Judy and thousands of victims like her 
who suffered from sexual assault. We owe it to Judy and every other 
survivor to come together in a bipartisan manner to confront this 
epidemic head on.

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