For Gallagher and others who say they are victims of not only sexual assaults but also of an indifferent military bureaucracy, the provisions are long overdue.
“It’s unfortunate that it takes an act of Congress to get the military’s attention,’’ Gallagher said.
After being attacked, Gallagher said, she spent the night wrestling a gut-twisting question: Should I speak up? In the morning, she went back to her superior, a woman, and told her of the alleged rape. The response, Gallagher said, was confounding: “She told me that this stuff happens, and that I had to deal with it.’’
Stunned, Gallagher did not file a rape report.
Her experience is not unique. According to the Pentagon’s own studies, as many as one in every three women leaving military service said they were sexually assaulted while serving their country. The study estimates that the vast majority, 86 percent, of sexual assault victims remain silent.
Among civilians, 40 percent of sexual allegations lead to prosecutions; in the military, 8 percent are prosecuted, although recent studies suggest this number could be increasing.
“No man or woman seeking to serve our nation should ever be victimized by our own soldiers,’’ said Representative Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Tsongas, a Democrat, co-wrote many of the sexual assault provisions, which include:
■ Requiring the Pentagon for the first time to provide legal assistance to victims, a key change that promises to help them wade through the often-onerous military legal system, according to advocates.
