Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday addressed a viral TikTok video of an emotional Marine who said her “perpetrator”, who admitted to misconduct, should have been allowed to remain on duty.
Driving the news: Austin called the video “very disturbing” and said he has asked his personnel for more information and assistance from the Marine.
- In the video, the Marine says through tears that a commanding general intervened to allow her alleged perpetrator to remain in the force, despite a “ confession of guilt. ”
- “This is exactly why” women in the military have been killed by suicide, the Marine added.
- The video, which was posted on TikTok on Thursday, has gone viral on various social media platforms.
What they say: “We are aware of the video circulating on social media about one of our Marines, ‘the Marine Corps said in a pronunciation Friday Friday.
- “This video specifically refers to an allegation of misconduct related to the misappropriation and dissemination of personal information,” the force added.
- “The current administrative divorce process for the accused perpetrator named in the video is underway. The Marine in the video is safe and has had the opportunity to meet with senior representatives on her orders.”
- “We take all allegations of prohibited behavior and activities seriously to ensure that our people are fully supported by the appropriate resources specific to the nature of an incident.”
The big picture: In one of his first official acts as head of the Pentagon, Austin instructed senior military leaders to send him reports on sexual assault prevention programs so the department can evaluate which initiatives were most effective.
- According to the Ministry of Defense, there were 7,825 reports of sexual assault involving military personnel as victims in 2019, 3% more than the previous year.
- Although the military has been criticized for years for handling allegations of sexual misconduct, the issue received renewed attention after the murder of 20-year-old Spc. Vanessa Guillén, who told family and friends that she had been sexually harassed before disappearing from Fort Hood in April 2020.
- An independent investigation of the case found that “there was an indulgent environment for sexual assault and harassment in Fort Hood.”
Austin repeated it on Friday that he takes the issue of sexual assault “very, very seriously”.
- “We’ve been working on this seriously for a long time, but we haven’t done it right,” said Austin. “And my commitment to my soldiers, sailors, pilots and marines and dependents is that we will do everything we can to get it right.”
Go deeper: Austin orders evaluation of military sexual violence prevention programs