Pentagon official backs sexual assault policy recommendations

Sexual assault policy recommendations from a committee advising the Defense Department were generally accepted by a top military leader Friday as the Pentagon moves closer to reforming policies that many have described as outdated.

David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, said the recommendations were substantive, and many should be implemented through the Pentagon's Joint Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention and Response by the end of the year.

The recommendations from the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services included codifying the zero tolerance policy on sexual assault in a department directive, similar to the Army's policy released in April. The committee also strongly advocated that a clear definition of sexual assault be incorporated into the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and disseminated by the task force.

The panel is not recommending the adoption of a civilian definition of sexual assault, rather, they want the definition of sexual assault used in training to be enforced consistently through the UCMJ. Chu said the approach is interesting because "there's a lot of pressure to conform to civil code."

"These are very substantive recommendations, and I appreciate that," Chu said. "This is an interesting and useful approach."

Other recommendations, which were unanimously agreed upon by the panel, included separating men and women during sexual assault training courses, which the chairwoman of the committee, retired Lt. Gen. Carol Mutter, said was very unusual for the panel which has come under fire in the past for recommending policies that would put women in combat. A majority of the panel's recommendations involved ways of increasing training on sexual assault.

Consistent with Chu's call earlier this week for a victim's confidentiality policy, the panel recommended that keeping victims' identities as anonymous as possible will help them feel more comfortable seeking treatment and reporting incidents of assault.

The confidentiality policy has been controversial, but considered necessary by experts in the field. A congressional staffer familiar with the issue said it would run counter to the military's culture.

In a briefing with members of the Congressional Women's Caucus, Brig. Gen. K.C. McClain, commander of the task force, said the confidentiality policy would apply before an incident has been officially reported and is under investigation. A privacy policy would apply after the case has been officially reported. Victims, health-care providers and chaplains would be covered in the confidentiality policy.

McClain's task force is still working on the definition of sexual assault.