U.S : Stand up for Vanessa GUILLEN and military survivors !

Dear friend,

The last time 20-year-old Army Specialist Vanessa Guillén was seen alive was on April 22 at the parking lot of her barracks in Fort Hood, Texas. Tragically, on Tuesday, June 30, some of her remains were found in a shallow grave near Fort Hood. A suspect in her murder, who was approached by police two days later, committed suicide.¹

Prior to Vanessa’s disappearance, she had told her mother that a sergeant on her base was sexually harassing her at work, but that she was afraid to report the abuse out of fear of retaliation. Sexual harassment and assault is rampant and systemic in the U.S. armed forces, with complaints filed by 13,000 active duty women in 2018.²  However, experts say that only one in 10 survivors reports their assault, therefore, the actual number is probably much higher. And considering that survivors have little recourse outside of the military's infrastructure, the fear of retaliation for reporting sexual abuse is widespread as well.³ 

The Army failed to protect Vanessa, as well as countless other women on the job, and must be held accountable through an outside investigation and hearing of her disappearance and murder.

Will you sign the petition demanding a congressional investigation and hearing into Fort Hood’s handling of Vanessa’s disappearance and death, and to give her family answers and full disclosure?

The U.S. military has an abysmal record of handling sexual harassment and assault. Like Vanessa, many soldiers do not report sexual abuse for fear of retaliation. Under the military's infrastructure, a survivor can choose to report a sexual crime confidentially, but this "restricted reporting" means that the survivor's assailant remains unpunished, the survivor cannot receive a military protective order, or receive a transfer.⁴ 

Additionally, even when survivors do speak out, both the military healthcare system and oversight of due process falls under the aegis of the military--not a neutral third party.⁵  The military also fails to provide survivors with access to non-military legal resources, such as counsel. And, even though pro-bono and low-cost civilian options exist, many survivors don't know about them.

  

Service members like Vanessa, and countless others, deserve a safe workplace free from harassment and violence.

Please speak up for Vanessa and her family, and demand a congressional investigation and hearing into Fort Hood’s handling of Vanessa’s disappearance and death. Her family deserves answers and full disclosure.

Thank you for taking action with us.

Shaunna, KaeLyn, Kathy, Anathea, Melody, Pam, Lindsay, Sonja, Kimberly, Maria, Elisa, and Katie, the UltraViolet team.

Sources :

1. Vanessa Guillén's killing at Fort Hood leaves family grieving, grasping for clues, USA Today, July 17, 2020.

2. Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, Fiscal Year 2018, U.S. Department of Defense, 2018, accessed July 20, 2020

3. Challenging Military Sexual Violence, Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild, July 2017, accessed July 20, 2020.

4. Sexual Harassment / Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP), U.S. Army, accessed July 20, 2020.

5. Sexual Harassment / Assault Response & Prevention (SHARP), U.S. Army, accessed July 20, 2020.

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