File photo of Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
The chairman of the US Armed Services Committee says he will block a measure aimed at moving the prosecution of sexual assault cases out of the military chain of command.
Senator Carl Levin said on Tuesday that he would not allow Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrandâ„¢s measure – backed by 27 co-sponsors – to be included in a defense spending bill, which would authorize prosecutors to pursue sexual assault crimes committed in the military.
Å“They basically embrace the status quo here…itâ„¢s outrageous,” said Senator Barbara Boxer, a co-sponsor of the measure.
Instead, Levinâ„¢s replacement measure would give power to military officers to pursue sexual assault allegations, keeping prosecution of cases within the ranks of the military.
Washington is facing a crisis due to the rising number of sexual assaults in the countryâ„¢s military.
A newly-released report by the Pentagon on sexual assaults in the military indicates that unwanted sexual contact protests involving military personnel jumped to 26,000 in 2012 from 19,000 a year before. The figure shows a 37-percent increase.
The sharp increase in the number of sexual assault cases comes as the Pentagon is planning to integrate women into front-line combat roles.
According to a survey conducted in 2011, about one out of five military women said they had been the victims of sexual assault by another service member since joining the military.
GMA/KA
This article originally appeared on: Press TV