Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand leads fight against sexual assault in the military
WASHINGTON — Watching the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Invisible War” last year helped Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand decide on her next legislative priority.
The movie shows young women from small towns in Kentucky, Ohio and other parts of Middle America talking about enlisting in the military. Each says she was motivated by a family tradition, the search for a career or both. They have high aspirations.
But those aspirations turn into nightmares. The women also recall shocking incidents of being sexually assaulted — sometimes with bone-crushing violence or a gun held to their head — by fellow soldiers, commanders or training officers. “That movie was so personally moving to me because it put a face on the crime,” said Gillibrand, D-N.Y. “You could see the victims and how their lives were so destroyed.”
Gillibrand’s decision to give sexual assaults in the military more attention from Congress was cemented when she was named chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on personnel this year. After serving four years in the Senate and just over two years earlier in the House of Representatives, the post is the first congressional leadership position for Gillibrand, a 46-year-old attorney.
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