I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1709 

To prevent and end the occurrence of sexual assaults involving members 

of the Armed Forces. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2011 

Ms. SLAUGHTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To prevent and end the occurrence of sexual assaults 

involving members of the Armed Forces. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Force Protection and Readiness Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, victim service organization, and health 

care professional privileges in cases arising under Uniform 

Code of Military Justice. 

Sec. 3. Expedited consideration and priority for application for consideration of 

a permanent change of station or unit transfer based on humanitarian conditions for victim of sexual assault. 


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Sec. 4. Codification of required information database on sexual assault incidents involving members of the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 5. Establishment of hotline to improve reporting of sexual assaults involving members of the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 6. Assignment and training of Sexual Assault Victim Advocates. 

Sec. 7. Provision of court-martial record to victim of sexual assault involving 

a member of the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 8. Legal training for judge advocates to improve investigation and prosecution of sexual assault offenses. 

1 SEC. 2. SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM ADVOCATE, VICTIM SERV2 ICE ORGANIZATION, AND HEALTH CARE PRO3 FESSIONAL PRIVILEGES IN CASES ARISING 

4 UNDER UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUS5 TICE. 

6 (a) PRIVILEGES ESTABLISHED.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter XI of chapter 47 

8 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code 

9 of Military Justice), is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 940a. Art. 140a. Privilege for communication with 

12 Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, victim 

13 service organization, or health care pro14 fessional 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) The term ‘client’ means a person who 

17 consults with or is examined or interviewed by a 

18 Sexual Assault Victim Advocate of the Department 

19 of Defense, a victim service organization or any rep20 resentative of the organization, or a health care pro21 fessional or any representative of the professional. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘victim service organization’ 

2 means an organization (whether public or private) 

3 that provides advice, counseling, or assistance to vic4 tims of domestic violence, family violence, dating vio5 lence, stalking, or sexual assault, or to the families 

6 of such victims. 

7 ‘‘(3) The term ‘representative’, with respect to 

8 an organization or professional, means a person di9 rected by or assigned to assist that organization or 

10 professional, respectively, in providing advice, coun11 seling, treatment, or assistance. 

12 ‘‘(4) The term ‘confidential communication’ 

13 means a communication not intended to be disclosed 

14 to third persons other than— 

15 ‘‘(A) those persons to whom disclosure is 

16 in furtherance of providing advice, counseling, 

17 treatment, or assistance to the client; and 

18 ‘‘(B) those persons reasonably necessary 

19 for facilitating disclosure under subparagraph 

20 (A). 

21 ‘‘(b) GENERAL RULE OF PRIVILEGE.—(1) A client 

22 has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any 

23 other person from disclosing, in a case arising under this 

24 chapter, a confidential communication made between the 

25 client and a person or entity specified in paragraph (2) 


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1 if such communication was made for the purpose of secur2 ing advice, counseling, treatment, or assistance concerning 

3 the client’s mental, physical, or emotional condition caused 

4 by a sexual assault or other offense covered by section 920 

5 of this title (article 120). 

6 ‘‘(2) The privilege afforded by paragraph (1) applies 

7 to confidential communications with— 

8 ‘‘(A) any operator or recording device of the 

9 Department of Defense sexual assault reporting hot10 line; 

11 ‘‘(B) a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate; 

12 ‘‘(C) a victim service organization or any rep13 resentative of the organization; and 

14 ‘‘(D) a health care professional or any rep15 resentative of the professional. 

16 ‘‘(3) A person referred to in paragraph (2) shall no17 tify clients as soon as practicable of the existence of the 

18 privilege afforded by paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(c) EMERGENCY SHELTER PROTECTION.—A client 

20 or representative of a client may not be compelled to pro21 vide testimony in a case arising under this chapter (or 

22 other disciplinary or administrative proceeding of an 

23 armed force) that would identify— 

24 ‘‘(1) the name, address, location, or telephone 

25 number of a safe house, abuse shelter, or other facilVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:16 May 05, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1709.IH H1709

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1 ity that provided temporary emergency shelter to the 

2 victim of the offense or transaction that is the sub3 ject of the proceeding; or 

4 ‘‘(2) the name, address, or telephone number of 

5 a victim representative. 

6 ‘‘(d) WHO MAY CLAIM THE PRIVILEGE.—The privi7 lege under subsection (b) or (c) may be claimed by the 

8 client or the guardian or conservator of the client. A per9 son who may claim the privilege may authorize trial coun10 sel or defense counsel to claim the privilege on his or her 

11 behalf. The Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, victim service 

12 organization, health care professional, or representative 

13 who received the communication may claim the privilege 

14 on behalf of the client. The authority of the Sexual Assault 

15 Victim Advocate, organization, professional, representa16 tive, guardian, or conservator to assert the privilege is pre17 sumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary. 

18 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.—There is no privilege under this 

19 section— 

20 ‘‘(1) when the client is dead, except for the 

21 privilege under subsection (c); 

22 ‘‘(2) to the extent the communication reports 

23 child abuse; 

24 ‘‘(3) when a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, 

25 victim service organization, health care professional, 


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1 or representative believes that a mental or emotional 

2 condition of the client makes the client a danger to 

3 any person, including the client; or 

4 ‘‘(4) if the communication clearly contemplated 

5 the future commission of a fraud or crime or if the 

6 services of the Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, vic7 tim service organization, or health care professional 

8 are sought or obtained to enable or aid anyone to 

9 commit or plan to commit what the client knew or 

10 reasonably should have known to be a crime or 

11 fraud.’’. 

12 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec13 tions at the beginning of such subchapter is amend14 ed by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘940a. 140a. Privilege for communication with Sexual Assault Victim Advocate, 

victim service organization, or health care professional.’’. 

15 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 940a of title 10, United 

16 States Code (article 140a of the Uniform Code of Military 

17 Justice), as added by subsection (a), applies to commu18 nications made after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION AND PRIORITY FOR 

2 APPLICATION FOR CONSIDERATION OF A 

3 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION OR UNIT 

4 TRANSFER BASED ON HUMANITARIAN CONDI5 TIONS FOR VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 39 of title 10, United 

7 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 672 the 

8 following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 673. Consideration of application for permanent 

10 change of station or unit transfer for 

11 members on active duty who are the vic12 tim of a sexual assault 

13 ‘‘(a) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION AND PRIORITY

14 FOR APPROVAL.—To the maximum extent practical, the 

15 Secretary concerned shall provide for the expedited consid16 eration and approval of an application for consideration 

17 of a permanent change of station or unit transfer sub18 mitted by a member of the armed forces serving on active 

19 duty who was a victim of a sexual assault or other offense 

20 covered by section 920 of this title (article 120) so as to 

21 reduce the possibility of retaliation against the member 

22 for reporting the sexual assault. 

23 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretaries of the military 

24 departments shall issue regulations to carry out this sec25 tion, within guidelines provided by the Secretary of De26 fense.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

3 after the item relating to section 672 the following new 

4 item: 

‘‘673. Consideration of application for permanent change of station or unit 

transfer for members on active duty who are the victim of a 

sexual assault.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. CODIFICATION OF REQUIRED INFORMATION DATA6 BASE ON SEXUAL ASSAULT INCIDENTS IN7 VOLVING MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

8 (a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—Chapter 80 of title 10, 

9 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 

10 1562 the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 1562a. Database on sexual assault incidents 

12 ‘‘(a) DATABASE REQUIRED.—The Secretary of De13 fense shall maintain a centralized, case-level database for 

14 the collection, in a manner consistent with Department of 

15 Defense regulations for restricted reporting, and mainte16 nance of information regarding sexual assaults involving 

17 a member of the armed forces, including information, if 

18 available, about the nature of the assault, the victim, the 

19 offender, and the outcome of any legal proceedings in con20 nection with the assault. 

21 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF DATABASE.—The database 

22 required by subsection (a) shall be available to personnel 

23 of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office of 

24 the Department of Defense. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.—The database required by subsection 

2 (a) shall be used to develop and implement congressional 

3 reports, as required by the following 

4 ‘‘(1) Sections 4361, 6980, and 9361 of this 

5 title. 

6 ‘‘(2) Section 1631 of the Ike Skelton National 

7 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 

8 (Public Law 101–383; 10 U.S.C. 1561 note).’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

10 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

11 after the item relating to section 1562 the following new 

12 item: 

‘‘1562a. Database on sexual assault incidents.’’. 

13 (c) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED REQUIREMENT.—Sec14 tion 563 of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Author15 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (Public Law 110–417; 

16 10 U.S.C. 113 note) and section 1613 of the Ike Skelton 

17 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 

18 (Public Law 101–383; 10 U.S.C. 1561 note) are repealed. 

19 (d) COMPLETION.—Not later than one year after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

21 shall complete implementation of the database required by 

22 the amendment made by subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF HOTLINE TO IMPROVE RE2 PORTING OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS INVOLVING 

3 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall establish 

6 a universal hotline to facilitate the reporting of a sexual 

7 assault— 

8 (1) by a member of the Armed Forces, whether 

9 serving in the United States or overseas, who is a 

10 victim of a sexual assault; or 

11 (2) by any other person who is a victim of a 

12 sexual assault involving a member of the Armed 

13 Forces. 

14 SEC. 6. ASSIGNMENT AND TRAINING OF SEXUAL ASSAULT 

15 VICTIM ADVOCATES. 

16 (a) ASSIGNMENT AND TRAINING.—Chapter 80 of 

17 title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 1568. Sexual Assault Victim Advocates 

20 ‘‘(a) ASSIGNMENT OF VICTIM ADVOCATES.—(1) At 

21 least one full-time Sexual Assault Victim Advocate shall 

22 be assigned to each battalion or equivalent military unit. 

23 The Secretary concerned may assign additional Victim Ad24 vocates as necessary based on the demographics or needs 

25 of the unit. The additional Victim Advocates may serve 


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1 on a full-time or part-time basis at the discretion of the 

2 Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary concerned shall assign members 

4 of the armed forces under the jurisdiction of the Secretary 

5 to serve as a deployable Sexual Assault Victim Advocate 

6 when Victim Advocates assigned to a unit under para7 graph (1) are not deployed with the unit. 

8 ‘‘(b) TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.—(1) The Sec9 retary of Defense shall establish a training and certifi10 cation program for Sexual Assault Victim Advocates. In 

11 developing the program, the Secretary of Defense shall 

12 work with the National Victim Assistance Academy. 

13 ‘‘(2) A member or civilian employee assigned to duty 

14 as a Victim Advocate may obtain certification under the 

15 training program.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘1568. Sexual Assault Victim Advocates.’’. 

19 SEC. 7. PROVISION OF COURT-MARTIAL RECORD TO VIC20 TIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT INVOLVING A MEM21 BER OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

22 A copy of the prepared record of the proceedings of 

23 a court-martial involving a sexual assault or other sexual 

24 offense shall be given to the victim of the offence if the 

25 victim testified during the proceedings. The record of the 


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1 proceedings shall be provided without charge and as soon 

2 as the record is authenticated. The victim shall be notified 

3 of the opportunity to receive the record of the proceedings. 

4 SEC. 8. LEGAL TRAINING FOR JUDGE ADVOCATES TO IM5 PROVE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION 

6 OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENSES. 

7 Section 806 of title 10, United States Code (article 

8 6 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(e) The Secretary of Defense shall provide for the 

11 inclusion of a training module for judge advocates who 

12 serve as trial counsel to improve their ability to investigate 

13 and prosecute cases involving a sexual assault or other of14 fense covered by section 920 of this title (article 120).’’. 

Æ 


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