Yale Law School clinic suit alleges military retaliates against victims who report sexual assaults, harassment

Advocacy groups for veterans are suing the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security for records on how it handles discharges related to the sexual assault and harassment of female service members.

The Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School is representing Protect our Defenders and the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center in the action.

The suit asks the U.S. District Court to direct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to produce records on how the military justice system and the military record correction boards handle these cases.

Alyssa Peterson, a student at the Yale Law School, said material they have already received would seem to indicate the military is not tracking whether victims of military sexual trauma pursue cases in civilian court, an option the Department of Defense agreed to when there was a push in Congress to take these cases away from the military.

The suit also seeks data on how the Boards of Military Record Corrections handle charges of retaliation from sexual assault victims when they appeal a bad discharge and whether they are treated as whistleblowers.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he was happy this suit was filed.

“Survivors of military sexual assault are owed justice and openness in discharge proceedings. Instead, far too many are re-victimized by dishonorable discharges that bar them from receiving the services and recognition they need and deserve,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

He said the amendments he authored to bring more transparency to the process were recently signed into law.

A representative from the Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the suit.

The lawsuit claims there continues to be de facto barriers to full participation in the military by service members based on race, sex, disability and sexual orientation.

The suit charges that the military has either ignored or given inadequate responses to requests for the data under the Freedom of Information Act.

The suit alleges that supervisors often retaliate against women who report an offense. It said these survivors are at increased risk of post-traumatic stress and substance abuse disorders, which can hurt their ability to perform their duties.

“Service members are not sufficiently protected from military sexual trauma while they serve, and survivors are not adequately cared for after they leave,” the suit asserts.

Citing the military’s own records, the suit said that in 2016, almost 15,000 service members experienced sexual assault. Female service members reported sexual assault at a rate 2.5 times greater than men. A Rand study found that 55 percent of female service members reported experiencing sexual harassment.

Homelessness among female veterans is acute, according to a public health publication. One study also found that over half of homeless female veterans had experienced rape, sexual assault or harassment.

The suit said service members who have experienced military sexual trauma are at increased risk of getting involved with the military justice system as the trauma can lead to misconduct and a less than honorable discharge, depriving them of benefits.

Citing Human Rights Watch, the suit there is “significant documentation showing commanders punishing service members for reporting MST,” (military sexual trauma.)

The military’s records for 2016 showed 40 percent of active duty service members reported experiencing professional reprisal after they reported a sexual assault.

In those cases where an individual was retaliated against after reporting military sexual trauma, the military record correction boards must apply the Military Whistleblower Protection Act.

But few do, according to the suit, “in part due to inadequate efforts of the board to implement its requirements.”

Protect Our Defenders defines itself as an organization dedicated to ending rape and sexual assault in the military and combatting “a culture of pervasive misogyny, sexual harassment and retribution against victims.”

Connecticut Veterans Legal Center’s mission is to help veterans who have experienced homelessness and mental illnesses overome barriers to housing, health care and jobs.