00                       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 20                                                                    
01 Urging the United States Congress to pass S. 967, the Military Justice Improvement Act                                  
02 of 2013, including the requirement that a decision to take a charge of sexual assault                                   
03 arising in the military to court martial be made by high ranking and experienced                                        
04 military prosecutors outside the chain of command.                                                                      
05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
06       WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, about                                   
07 one in five women and one in 100 men who have served in the military report having                                      
08 experienced sexual trauma while serving in the military; and                                                            
09       WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of Defense, Sexual Assault                                   
10 Prevention and Response Office, 71 percent of victims of military sexual trauma are under 24                            
11 years of age and of lower ranks; and                                                                                    
12       WHEREAS, according to a recent study by the United States Department of Defense,                                
13 more than 26,000 sexual assaults were committed in the military in 2012 alone, and of these,                            
14 fewer than 3,000 were reported, 880 were filed, and only 302 went to trial, with a 79 percent                           
15 conviction rate; and                                                                                                    
01       WHEREAS women and men who are victims of sexual assault while serving in the                                    
02 military are more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and 40 percent of                               
03 homeless women veterans are victims of military sexual trauma; and                                                      
04       WHEREAS it is almost impossible to guarantee that reports of sexual assaults will                               
05 stay confidential while passing through the chain of command; and                                                       
06       WHEREAS victims fear that their reports of sexual assault will be cause for                                     
07 punishment, and the threat of retaliation is enough to silence many victims; 62 percent of                              
08 victims who reported their sexual assaults experienced some form of social, administrative, or                          
09 professional retaliation within their units; and                                                                        
10       WHEREAS a defined reporting system outside military command is needed to                                        
11 provide a secure and confidential atmosphere; and                                                                       
12       WHEREAS National Guard and Reserve forces who experience military sexual                                        
13 trauma should also be able to receive care for military sexual trauma from the United States                            
14 Department of Veterans Affairs facilities at no cost; and                                                               
15       WHEREAS the need to treat military sexual trauma does not end with discharge of                                 
16 the victim from the military, but requires intensive mental health counseling to allow the                              
17 healing process to progress; and                                                                                        
18       WHEREAS victims of military sexual trauma may experience depression, anger,                                     
19 irritability, numbness, difficulty falling or staying asleep, nightmares, difficulties with                             
20 concentration and memory, drug and alcohol abuse, isolation, difficulty maintaining                                     
21 relationships, and physical health problems; and                                                                      
22       WHEREAS S. 967, the Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013, now pending in                                    
23 the United States Senate, would reform how the military addresses sexual assault; and                                   
24       WHEREAS, with bipartisan sponsorship, the Military Justice Improvement Act of                                 
25 2013 is supported by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Service Women's Action                               
26 Network, Protect Our Defenders, and the National Women's Law Center;                                                  
27       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                        
28 Congress to require that the decision to take a charge of sexual assault arising in the military                        
29 to court martial be made by high ranking and experienced military prosecutors outside the                               
30 chain of command, which will create a confidential reporting process and give victims of                                
31 military sexual trauma the justice they deserve; and be it                                                              
01       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                      
02 Congress to pass S. 967, the Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013.                                                  
03       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
04 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
05 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of                                  
06 Representatives; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                                      
07 Honorable Chuck Hagel, United States Secretary of Defense; and the Honorable Lisa                                       
08 Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young,                                    
09 U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.