SWAN Executive Director Anu Bhagwati welcomes keynote speaker Mary Lauterbach
Service Women's Action Network delivered The Lauterbach Award for Truth and Justice, a distinction recognizing sustained commitment to the elimination of sexual violence in the military, Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). Last year, Rep. Tsongas and Rep. Turner introduced the Defense Sexual Trauma Response Oversight and Good Governance (STRONG) Act, which then received Senate support from Sen. Collins and Sen. Kerry. Elements of this legislation were introduced into law through the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act which was signed into law by President Barack Obama last December. These included key reforms such as expedited base transfers for sexual assault survivors and retention of evidence in unrestricted sexual assault investigations for 50 years.
Maria Lauterbach
The awards luncheon's keynote address was delivered by Mary Lauterbach. Lauterbach's daughter Maria was 20 years old when she was murdered in 2007 by a fellow Marine accused of raping her only weeks before. Since her daughter’s death, Mary has been actively working to increase awareness of sexual assault in the military and to improve both the care and justice that service members receive when sexually assaulted.
Although Lauterbach said, "we have a very long way to go," Lauterbach is feeling optimistic that in the last five years the military is finally waking up to the seriousness of the problem. "Rape is the one crime where a victim has to prove their innocence," a declaration that prompted a metaphoric hallelujah from the crowd.
After the awards ceremony, more than 200 survivors participating in the Summit will attend advocacy training and then mobilize at the Capitol to share their personal experiences with their Congressional representatives. These visits to policy makers will take place one day before the House Armed Services Committee begins full mark up of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains additional proposals for reforming military sexual assault investigations and prosecutions.
Sen. John Kerry with attendees at SWAN's Truth and Justice summit
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
Collins arrived a few minutes late, explaining in 15 years she'd never missed a roll call vote, and there had been a spontaneous one at noon. It's a good excuse. She expressed she was totally shocked to find sexual assault victims had been forced to continue serving with their alleged attackers. That system has recently been changed.
Sen. Collins is grateful "A Democrat from Massachusetts and a Republican from Maine can join forces to tackle a real problem."
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
Rep. Tsongas lamented that for years, despite lots of talk, statistics show for that nothing much is changing on addressing the problem of military sexual assault.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH)
Rep. Turner said it there never should have been the need for a Lauterbach award. He thanked SWAN and the convening advocates for giving him a congressional "to do" list.
Sharon Morrison
Also honored was
Sharon Morrison, who works as a Clinical Counselor for the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinic in Manhattan. She said: "As a drill sergeant and as a physical therapist, at the end of the day, I want to be remembered for how much I helped you, not how much you liked me."
Susan Avila-Smith
SWAN recognized Susan Avila-Smith for founding the military sexual trauma advocacy group,
Vet WOW. Avila-Smith acerbically told the crowd to remember this: "The military is stupid and vindictive. The VA is only stupid." Learn to understand the rules, or you're stuck.
• This is the third in a series of posts on SWAN's Truth and Justice summit. See previous diaries here and here.