Hundreds of children are abused by members of the military each year, according to a Defense Department report released exclusively to the Associate Press.
The wire service reported Monday that the figures offer greater insight into the problem, which has been shrouded in secrecy due to a lack of transparency into the military’s legal proceedings.
An AP investigation in November prompted U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, along with two other Democratic senators, to urge Defense Secretary Ash Carter to lift the military justice system’s “cloak of secrecy” and make more information publicly available.
The entire Hawaii delegation backed reforms against military sexual assaults in 2013.
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About the Author
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Nathan Eagle is the assistant managing editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at neagle@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @nathaneagle, Facebook here and Instagram here.