Fri 02 July 2021:
The Defense Department will immediately launch several reforms to radically revise and strengthen the legal processes to prosecute all sexual crimes committed within and by members of the US military, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday.
“There are several reforms on which I direct the [Defense] Department to start moving forward now,” Austin said in a memorandum for senior military leaders and combatant command chiefs. “It is clear that … countering sexual assault and sexual I harassment in our military will require a comprehensive approach.”
Austin announced the creation of dedicated offices within the secretariat of each military department to handle the prosecution of all such crimes within the US armed forces.
“We will work with Congress to amend the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice] by removing the prosecution of sexual assaults and related crimes, domestic violence, child abuse and retaliation from the military chain of command,” Austin said.
Sexual harassment was also now added as an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Austin added.
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