File photo of Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee.<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
Senator Carl Levin said on Tuesday that he would not allow Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s 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.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThey basically embrace the status quo here\u2026it\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s outrageous,\u201d said Senator Barbara Boxer, a co-sponsor of the measure.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Instead, Levin\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s replacement measure would give power to military officers to pursue sexual assault allegations, keeping prosecution of cases within the ranks of the military.<\/p>\n
Washington is facing a crisis due to the rising number of sexual assaults in the country\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s military.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
The sharp increase in the number of sexual assault cases comes as the Pentagon is planning to integrate women into front-line combat roles.\n<\/p>\n
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.\n<\/p>\n
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