Liberty Feature
Chorbak described several cases when the death of a Servicemember was preceded by MST. “There are 43 stories of women and men who reported sexual assault to their chain of command and were later found dead,” she said. While the group’s first event was a local, grassroots protest to inspire awareness of the issue, it has become the catalyst for a nation-wide call to action for policy actions within the Department of Defense and at the federal level. Events continue across the country to educate the public as well as obtain support for the I Am Vanessa Guillén Act. “Almost two percent of the population is military and Veterans,” Chorbak said. “We need the other 98 percent to care.” Our Sister’s Keeper has seven demands: 1. 2. 3. 4.
WE ARE OUR SISTER’S KEEPER Taking a stand against sexual assault in our military By Stephanie Thompson “Be her voice! Demand change!” “#IAmVanessaGuillén” “She will be heard” “#MeToo Military” “Stop protecting murderers in uniform” “Justice for all my sisters” These were the words written on a sampling of the many signs being seen at awareness rallies and call to action events in 22 cities across the nation by a newly formed organization: Our Sister’s Keeper Movement. Another sign merely implored us to “Say their names” while listing names of women who have died on active duty by the hands of fellow Servicemembers: Vanessa Guillén (2020, Army), Natasha Aposhian (2020, Air Force), Michelle Miller (2013, Army), Maria Lauterbach (2007, Marines), Kamisha Block (2007, Army), Tina Priest (2006, Army), and LaVena Johnson (2005, Army). Our Sister’s Keeper is a movement that began on The Liberty Coast mere months ago. It started in a Facebook group on July 3, with seven people planning a protest after the Army confirmed that remains found at the Leon River belonged to Spc. Vanessa Guillén. The movement quickly spread, resulting in 1,900 people standing in solidarity during that August 1 protest. It was a historical day: this was the first time in our nation’s history that women Veterans have organized and mobilized across the country on any issue related to the military. The movement speaks to every generation; the oldest organizer is 73, and the youngest is 24. One of the original seven members is Katie Chorbak, an Army Veteran and Florida native. She has learned quite a bit in the past three months about the realities of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) in our ranks, in addition to her personal experience. She has submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in an effort to understand the problem at a deeper level. “One million five hundred thousand Veterans are currently being seen for MST-related care,” Chorbak said. “Five hundred fifty million (tax dollars) per year go to disability payments for MST.” 08 | LIBERTYLIFEMEDIA.COM | OCTOBER 7, 2020 VOL. 1 / ISSUE 8
Pass the I Am Vanessa Guillén Act of 2020 Fire the entire Ft. Hood chain of command Make bystander complicity a judicial crime under Title 10 Mandate all convicted sex crime offenders in the military register on the National Sex Offenders Registry 5. Cross-match DNA at enlistment with FBI system CODIS, which catalogs all DNA of unsolved sexual crimes 6. Protect enlistees at MEPS from sexual harassment and assault 7. Request and sort information collected in all surveys, reports and investigations by installation, rank, gender, and ethnicity in order to better identify trends
Guillén’s case is under congressional investigation, and demands two and three are addressed in the I Am Vanessa Guillén Act. Getting legislation to accomplish the remaining four is the movement’s current focus. There is a “toxic culture” in the military, says Chorbak, that makes reporting sexual harassment or assault a generally negative—and even counterproductive— experience, but the “bigger issue is bystander complicity.” According to Protect Our Defenders’ MSA Fact Sheet, updated in August 2020, retaliation against those who report sexual assault is quite normal, with approximately one-third of the victims being discharged within seven months of filing. For a better understanding of how many people are affected, the fact sheet analyzes the data from fiscal year 2018: “In FY18, 20,500 Servicemembers were sexually assaulted or raped including 13,000 women and 7,500 men.” That’s a 40 percent increase in instances in two years, since fiscal year 2016. With this many cases, what are the conviction and prosecution rates? “Convictions have plummeted by almost 60 percent [since 2015],” reports Protect Our Defenders, “despite a 22 percent increase in unrestricted sexual assault reports since 2015.” To visualize what this translates to, a look at the fiscal year 2019 numbers shared by Protect Our Defenders is enlightening: “Of the 5,699 unrestricted reports of sexual assault, 363 (6.4 percent) cases were tried by court martial, and 138 (2.4 percent) were convicted of a nonconsensual sex offense.” One way forward is to engage the newest military branch—Space Force—in a way that applies all the lessons learned from the other branches. Space Force reporting currently falls under the Air Force. Chorbak recommends instead that the U.S. start a new reporting system and evaluate its effectiveness. This would create a space free of history to protect our troops from the inside, allowing the other service branches to see the effectiveness of a new approach through the numbers, including both retention and trust of the chain of command. Our Sister’s Keeper Movement is gaining momentum and will continue to advocate for measures in our government that are more supportive of the victims of sexual harassment and assault. “There’s a time and a place for legislation,” Chorbak said. “Right now is the time and the place for this.” To learn more about Our Sister’s Keeper Movement events and opportunities for involvement, contact Katie Chorbak at (904) 728-3692 or email Info@OurSistersKeeperMovement.org.
