Military court data shows that convictions for domestic violence have more than doubled across the armed services since Senator Gillibrand’s military justice reforms were implemented in 2023
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on reports of a significant increase in domestic violence convictions in the armed services. Military court data shows that convictions for domestic violence have more than doubled across the armed services since Senator Gillibrand’s military justice reforms were implemented in 2023.
“I fought for years to fundamentally reform the way that the military deals with sexual assault and domestic violence within its ranks, and I’m thrilled to see that these reforms have led to a significant increase in convictions for perpetrators. Protecting service members, holding perpetrators accountable, and getting justice for survivors is critical to rebuild trust in the military justice system and give troops the protection they deserve. While there is more work to be done to end the scourge of sexual and domestic violence within the armed services, these new statistics are evidence that our reforms are working. I hope to see continued accountability in the years to come, and I will keep providing oversight of the implementation of military justice reforms.”
Additional information on the convictions is available here.
For nearly a decade, Senator Gillibrand fought alongside survivors, service members, veterans, and legal experts to build a broad bipartisan coalition to fundamentally change the military justice system. In the FY2023 defense bill, Gillibrand successfully incorporated her legislation to remove judicial functions and prosecutorial decisions from the chain of command for certain serious crimes, including sexual assault and domestic violence, and put them in the hands of professional military prosecutors. This bipartisan reform was supported by leading veterans service organizations and advocacy groups—including VFW, IAVA, the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, Protect Our Defenders, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, SWAN, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), Common Defense, and Veterans Recovery Project—and it has resulted in a significant increase in military sexual assault convictions since its implementation.
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