LTC (Ret) Francesca Graham (Retired, Army – United states Military Academy), COO & Chief Advisor with the Walk the Talk Foundation, authored this article.
Did You Know: Allegations of sexual harassment made against general officers, Senior Executive Service Army civilians, and promotable colonels are not entered into the Sexual Harassment Integrated Case Reporting System (ICRS). Allegations against these individuals are sent to the DoD Inspector General for management. ICRS provides sexual harassment victims a tracking number for their complaint and is a way to identify serial offenders. The DoD IG does not assign case numbers to sexual harassment complaints forwarded to them, is not required to investigate every allegation of sexual harassment, and, in fact, may never contact the alleged victim. All other Army personnel facing sexual harassment allegations are entered into ICRS.
Here are some potential implications of these facts:
- ICRS exemptions give senior DoD leadership the ability to shield their peers from scrutiny.
- Given ICRS exemptions, Sexual Assault Response Coordinators lack insight into whether the senior officer making decisions about sexual harassment victims may themselves be a potential serial offender.
- Given the DoD IG’s total lack of transparency, victims facing reprisal and/or retaliation for filing a sexual harassment complaint against a senior officer will lack vital information necessary to fight against the reprisal / retaliation and recover their mental health.
- Army regulations (AR 600–20, page 108, para (L)), combined with the DoD IG’s lack of transparency, create a chilling effect that unlawfully discourages Army personnel from making protected reports of sexual harassment.
- The Army inappropriately discriminates against and does not evenly apply privacy considerations to the personnel not exempted from ICRS tracking – i.e. the other 99% of the Army.
- Victims of sexual harassment will lack key data – including even a case number – needed to submit a strong FOIA request to the DoD IG for information concerning their allegation.
An argument could be made that the exemption of senior personnel from ICRS violates the Equal Protection Clause under the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, as it creates a discriminatory system where lower-ranking personnel are held to stricter accountability standards than their senior counterparts. Further, the failure to provide case numbers and track allegations equally against senior personnel violates statutory mandates for victim protection and accountability under the National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the military to implement transparent processes for handling sexual harassment and assault complaints.
Send this newsletter to your elected officials if you believe these systems are unjust.
Find your Representative here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Find your Senator here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
If you feel that you have been a victim of these types of concerns, feel free to reach out privately at francescagraham@walkthetalkfoundation.org, or share your story in the comments.
PETITIONS:
- SIGN THIS PETITION urging the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the case of Staff Sergeant Ryan Carter who was paralyzed from the chest down following a routine surgery at Walter Reed.
- SIGN THIS PETITION demanding that our leaders in Congress change the DoD’s unjust administrative investigatory system.
- SIGN THIS PETITION demanding real anti-harassment reform in the Military and Coast Guard now.
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