Back on Capitol Hill, Arizona Republican Senator Martha McSally revealed Wednesday that she was raped by a superior officer when she served in the U.S. Air Force. Senator McSally—a former Air Force colonel who was the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat—made the disclosure during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on rampant sexual assault in the U.S. military.
Sen. Martha McSally: “The perpetrators abuse their position of power in profound ways. And in one case, I was preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer. I stayed silent for many years, but later in my career, as the military grappled with scandals and their wholly inadequate responses, I felt the need to let some people know I, too, was a survivor. I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences were handled. I almost separated from the Air Force at 18 years over my despair. Like many victims, I felt the system was raping me all over again.”
Pentagon figures show that in 2017—the most recent year for which data are available—there were nearly 6,800 reports of sexual assault involving members of the military, though sexual assaults are still dramatically underreported in military ranks. A 2011 survey estimated 26,000 people were sexually assaulted in the military that year alone, with women soldiers far more likely to be raped by fellow soldiers than killed in combat.