Doris J. Sumner's Blog
January 8, 2024
Independent Prosecutors a Victory?
January 5th, 2024
By Doris J. Sumner
The news feed is bustling with articles claiming a victory for the Department of Defense’s special trial counsel offices in each of the services. These special prosecutors eliminate the commander’s burden to determine prosecution. Is anyone wondering why commanders were burdened to do the right thing in the first place? Why were commanders feeling pressure to prosecute subordinates within their command for crimes? A senior Army official quoted in the military times article dated 12/28/2023 claims the key difference going forward, is decisions will be based on the facts of the evidence. Affirming that prior to this new office, commanders were making decisions to press charges or not, based on the absence of facts?
Does anyone see the irony of needing a special prosecutor to uphold the law based on facts in lieu of the commanders we put our sons and daughters in charge of, to take to war? The bias is an insidious cancer, and especially as it relates to sex-based crimes. The majority of sexual assaults against women are done by men (92%), and men reported male perpetrators of sexual assaults 52% of the time.
The impact new special counsel offices will have on the prevalence of sexual assaults will take years to determine. So how can we hail ‘victory’ now? In the interim, the phenomenon of Military Sexual Trauma for the men and women in uniform will continue. Every research project, investigation, stand-down or task force determines the issues related to sexual assaults within the DoD point to the culture. How do special trial counsel offices change the culture?
In my memoir, ‘Life At Camp: Combating the Sexism We Tolerate, and why the military should take the lead’, I describe the androcentric culture built over centuries which continues to suppress what feminine brings to increase the efficiency of our war fighting efforts. To prevent sexual assaults from occurring, we must combat the sexism which precludes most of the sex-based offenses.
Studies affirm, male-dominated organizations have a higher prevalence of gender bias, sexual harassment and sexual assault. How do we combat sexism? During my tenure as the lead Equal Opportunity & Diversity Manager for the Vermont National Guard, I presented the strategies my team and I coordinated to State and National Guard Bureau leaders. We determined gender equality accountability was a means to diversify the power core of the military and bring cohesion to the efforts to eradicate sexism. Sexism is a deep seated, (often unconscious) attitude that one sex is superior to the other. When women report gender bias, it is the very bias they are reporting about that denies, downplays or retaliates against them when they seek redress.
It is my hope, ‘Life At Camp’ lays out a road map for the DoD to consider when they once again ask, ‘why do sexual assaults keep happening?’ When we equalize cultural power, we can concede a victory.
www.militarytimes.com/news/your-milit...
www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA746-2/hand...
By Doris J. Sumner
The news feed is bustling with articles claiming a victory for the Department of Defense’s special trial counsel offices in each of the services. These special prosecutors eliminate the commander’s burden to determine prosecution. Is anyone wondering why commanders were burdened to do the right thing in the first place? Why were commanders feeling pressure to prosecute subordinates within their command for crimes? A senior Army official quoted in the military times article dated 12/28/2023 claims the key difference going forward, is decisions will be based on the facts of the evidence. Affirming that prior to this new office, commanders were making decisions to press charges or not, based on the absence of facts?
Does anyone see the irony of needing a special prosecutor to uphold the law based on facts in lieu of the commanders we put our sons and daughters in charge of, to take to war? The bias is an insidious cancer, and especially as it relates to sex-based crimes. The majority of sexual assaults against women are done by men (92%), and men reported male perpetrators of sexual assaults 52% of the time.
The impact new special counsel offices will have on the prevalence of sexual assaults will take years to determine. So how can we hail ‘victory’ now? In the interim, the phenomenon of Military Sexual Trauma for the men and women in uniform will continue. Every research project, investigation, stand-down or task force determines the issues related to sexual assaults within the DoD point to the culture. How do special trial counsel offices change the culture?
In my memoir, ‘Life At Camp: Combating the Sexism We Tolerate, and why the military should take the lead’, I describe the androcentric culture built over centuries which continues to suppress what feminine brings to increase the efficiency of our war fighting efforts. To prevent sexual assaults from occurring, we must combat the sexism which precludes most of the sex-based offenses.
Studies affirm, male-dominated organizations have a higher prevalence of gender bias, sexual harassment and sexual assault. How do we combat sexism? During my tenure as the lead Equal Opportunity & Diversity Manager for the Vermont National Guard, I presented the strategies my team and I coordinated to State and National Guard Bureau leaders. We determined gender equality accountability was a means to diversify the power core of the military and bring cohesion to the efforts to eradicate sexism. Sexism is a deep seated, (often unconscious) attitude that one sex is superior to the other. When women report gender bias, it is the very bias they are reporting about that denies, downplays or retaliates against them when they seek redress.
It is my hope, ‘Life At Camp’ lays out a road map for the DoD to consider when they once again ask, ‘why do sexual assaults keep happening?’ When we equalize cultural power, we can concede a victory.
www.militarytimes.com/news/your-milit...
www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA746-2/hand...
