GAO: DOD not addressing sex assaults

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GAO: DOD not addressing sex assaults
By Charlie Coon, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, September 15, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department’s self-described "crusade against sexual assault" is more like a battle it’s reluctant to fight, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Four years after being ordered by Congress to formally address sexual assaults in the ranks, a military task force met publicly for the first time in August to discuss the subject, one month after the Pentagon’s point woman on the issue, Dr. Kaye Whitley, snubbed a subpoena to update Congress on the military’s progress.

"Instead of partnering with Congress, senior figures in (the Defense Department) chose to prevent, for reasons beyond our comprehension, Dr. Whitley from testifying (in July)," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., said during Wednesday’s hearing. "This is one of many reasons why DOD has no credibility with me when it comes to protecting our women in uniform."

"The (Defense Department) is not taking action on its own," said Brenda Farrell, the GAO director who wrote a 12-page report introduced at the hearing by the House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs.

Whitley was at Wednesday’s hearing to explain the Pentagon’s response.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57405