Military Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is a pervasive, deeply-rooted epidemic in the U.S. military, with women experiencing the brunt.

War on Women Report: Antiabortion Extremist Charged in S.C. Shooting; Army OB-GYN Accused of Abusing Over 85 Women Patients

PUBLISHED 12/1/2025 by and | UPDATED 12/4/2025 at 9:06 A.M. PT

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—North Dakota’s Supreme Court reinstated a total abortion ban, making it the 13th state with a near-total ban on abortion.
—Trump ordered Catherine Lucey, a woman reporter for Bloomberg, to be “quiet, piggy.”
—The U.S. moved to categorize countries with state-sponsored abortion and DEI policies as violators of human rights.
—Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has sued Planned Parenthood over allegedly “misrepresenting the safety” of abortion pills.
—On Thursday, Dec. 4, an unprecedented law banning doctors from shipping abortion pills takes effect in Texas.
—”The country’s most respected newspaper hosted a conversation about whether women’s equality and freedom was a mistake.”
—Doctor Maj. Blaine McGraw, an OB-GYN at Fort Hood military base in Texas, the third-largest base in the country, is under investigation for sexual abuse against patients. As of Monday, 85 victims have come forward.
—With Jeffrey Epstein survivors watching from the gallery above, the House agreed in a near-unanimous vote to force the release of all files related to the investigation of the convicted sex offender.

… and more.

Pete Hegseth Doubles Down on His Culture War Against Feminism

PUBLISHED 10/10/2025 by

Many of the military officers who sat through Pete Hegseth’s and Donald Trump’s speeches about not tolerating “fat generals” and the need for “male standards” of physical fitness, are men who have not only served with highly capable, talented and accomplished women; many of them have mentored and promoted them as well. They know how vital and indispensable women are to functioning militaries in the modern era.

Secretary Hegseth’s speech was more than an announcement of new Pentagon priorities. It was, in many ways, a performative declaration of what is a much wider right-wing culture war against feminism.

‘This Work Is Not at the Fringe’: What It Was Like to Lead the White House Gender Policy Council

PUBLISHED 1/14/2025 by

Jennifer Klein, head of the first-of-its-kind office, reflects on the wins and the challenges—most notably, the end of federal abortion rights.

Gender equity isn’t simply good for women, she stressed, but good for America, good for the world. “If you look at the data, there is a well-established link between political stability and the treatment of women,” she said, making gender equity essential for national security. 

The Army Allows Soldiers Charged With Violent Crimes to Leave the Military, Rather Than Face Trial

PUBLISHED 5/9/2023 by , , and

Soldiers charged with crimes ranging from going AWOL and smoking marijuana, to rape and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, can request to leave the Army rather than go to trial.

Another Suspicious Death at a Texas Military Base Shows the Urgency of Addressing Military Sexual Harassment and Assault

PUBLISHED 4/13/2023 by

Mourners recently attended a memorial service for Pvt. Ana Fernanda Basaldua Ruiz, who was found murdered at the same Texas military base where U.S. Army Soldier Vanessa Guillén was brutally murdered in 2020. Ruiz’s death has renewed focus on the Army’s handling of sexual harassment—since before her death, Ruiz had told several family members and friends that she had been sexually harassed. Before she was killed, Guillén had also reported to her supervisor two instances of sexual harassment by a fellow soldier, but he and other officials failed to report the harassment up the chain.

As a Marine, I have heard the stories of sexual assault and harassment and have seen firsthand the devastating effects it can have on those who experience it. It is time for the U.S. military to recognize this problem and provide evidence-based therapies and resources to service members who have experienced this devastating trauma. 

Dobbs’ Effect on Military Women: ‘Our Fighting Force Is Hindered and Our Security Is at Risk’

PUBLISHED 12/19/2022 by

Forty percent of active-duty service women in the U.S. are stationed in states with abortion bans, as are 43 percent of civilian women working in the military. The time, cost and stress of traveling out of state will no doubt take a tremendous toll not only on women seeking abortion, but on the military itself and national security.

“Women who are active-duty service members do not get to choose what state they live in, which means they could lose abortion access at the whim of any state with an abortion ban.”

#MeToo, Five Years Later

PUBLISHED 10/27/2022 by

In the five years since it took off like wildfire, the #MeToo campaign has made widespread sexual abuse in the U.S. visible for the first time and inspired a record number of sexual harassment lawsuits against employers. It exposed how our decades-old workplace anti-harassment laws were outdated and often ineffective. In the last five years, 22 states and the District of Columbia passed more than 70 workplace anti-harassment bills in the last five years—many with bipartisan support.

Even still, U.S. rape culture persists and creates an environment where women and girls are disbelieved, survivors are discouraged from reporting abuse, and male abusers are forgiven—or even rewarded—for sexually abusive behavior. Congress must do more.

Keeping Score: Capitol Statues Honor RBG and Sandra Day O’Connor; Military Survivors Launch Campaign to Address Sexual Assault

PUBLISHED 4/26/2022 by

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in in this biweekly round-up.

This week: Michigan governor appeals to state Supreme Court to enshrine abortion rights in constitution; track star Allyson Felix plans to retire; Florida and Oklahoma move to criminalize abortion; Ukrainian refugees face a lack of sexual and reproductive healthcare; U.N. funds Bilan Project to give a voice to female journalists in Somalia; and more.