I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 840 

To reduce sexual assault and domestic violence involving members of the 

Armed Forces and their family members and partners through enhanced 

programs of prevention and deterrence, enhanced programs of victims’ 

services, and strengthened provisions for prosecution of assailants, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2009 

Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BRALEY of 

Iowa, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. FARR, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HOLT, Ms. LEE of 

California, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MICHAUD, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ

of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. STARK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and 

in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary and Veterans’ Affairs, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To reduce sexual assault and domestic violence involving 

members of the Armed Forces and their family members 

and partners through enhanced programs of prevention 

and deterrence, enhanced programs of victims’ services, 

and strengthened provisions for prosecution of assailants, 

and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Military Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—VICTIMS’ ADVOCATE PROGRAMS IN THE DEPARTMENT 

OF DEFENSE 

Subtitle A—Definitions 

Sec. 101. Definitions relating to sexual assault, domestic violence, etc., in the 

military. 

Subtitle B—Office of Victims’ Advocate and Department of Defense 

Interdisciplinary Council 

Sec. 111. Office of the Victims’ Advocate. 

Sec. 112. Department of Defense Interdisciplinary Council. 

Subtitle C—National and International Hotlines Awareness, Prevention, and 

Intervention Campaign 

Sec. 121. Awareness, prevention, and intervention campaign. 

Subtitle D—Prevention and Intervention Training 

Sec. 131. Prevention and intervention training contracts. 

Subtitle E—Biennial Conference on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence 

Sec. 141. Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Conference. 

Subtitle F—Memorandums of Understanding With Civil Organizations 

Sec. 151. Agreements with civilian organizations. 

TITLE II—RIGHTS, RESTITUTION, TREATMENT, AND SERVICES 

FOR VICTIMS 

Subtitle A—Protection of Persons Reporting Sexual Assault or Domestic 

Violence 

Sec. 201. Protection of communications between victims and advocates. 

Sec. 202. Victim service organization privilege and health care professional 

privilege in cases arising under Uniform Code of Military Justice. 


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Subtitle B—Medical Care and Treatment for Victims of Sexual and Domestic 

Violence 

Sec. 211. Enhanced Department of Defense treatment capacity. 

Sec. 212. Community level program. 

Sec. 213. Transition to veterans health care for victims or perpetrators of domestic violence, sexual assault, family violence, or stalking. 

Subtitle C—Military-Civilian Shelter Programs 

Sec. 221. Enhanced capacity of the Department of Defense for shelter programs and services. 

Subtitle D—Victim’s Rights and Restitution 

Sec. 231. Military law enforcement and victims’ rights. 

Sec. 232. Availability of incident reports. 

Sec. 233. Victim advocates and victims’ rights. 

Sec. 234. Restitution. 

Sec. 235. Records of military justice actions. 

Sec. 236. Travel and transportation of household effects or motor vehicle in response to dependent abuse. 

Sec. 237. Technical amendments relating to fatality review panels. 

TITLE III—REPORTING, PROSECUTION, AND TREATMENT OF 

PERPETRATORS 

Subtitle A—Reporting of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Stalking 

Within the Department of Defense 

Sec. 301. Complaints of sexual assault and domestic violence. 

Sec. 302. Response of military law enforcement officials to domestic violence incidents. 

Sec. 303. Investigation of sexual and domestic violence cases involving Department of Defense personnel. 

Subtitle B—Crimes Related to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence 

CHAPTER 1—FEDERAL CRIMINAL CODE

Sec. 311. Assimilative crimes. 

Sec. 312. Jurisdiction for sexual assault and domestic violence offenses committed outside the United States. 

CHAPTER 2—UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE

Sec. 316. Domestic violence and family violence. 

Sec. 317. Protective orders. 

Subtitle C—Treatment Services for Perpetrators 

Sec. 321. Enhanced capacity of the Department of Defense for treatment services for perpetrators. 

Sec. 322. Sex offender treatment program. 

TITLE IV—COUNSELING AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS OF 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 


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Sec. 401. Research on best practices to overcome stigma related to military sexual trauma. 

Sec. 402. Training for Department of Veterans Affairs primary care providers. 

Sec. 403. Pilot program on ways to identify veterans who are victims of military sexual trauma. 

Sec. 404. Pilot program on treatment of active-duty military personnel through 

facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

Subtitle A—Administration Matters 

Sec. 501. Performance evaluations and benefits. 

Sec. 502. Closure of article 32 investigations in cases of sexual assault or domestic violence. 

Subtitle B—Enhancement of Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 

Sec. 511. Amendments to Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. 

Subtitle C—Research on Prevalence, Needs Assessment, Services, and 

Accountability 

Sec. 521. Research on sexual assault, domestic violence, and family violence in 

the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 522. Research on institutional procedures for reporting sexual assault, domestic violence, and family violence in the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 523. Research on dating violence associated with the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 524. Research on child maltreatment, abuse, and homicide in the Armed 

Forces. 

1 TITLE I—VICTIMS’ ADVOCATE 

2 PROGRAMS IN THE DEPART3 MENT OF DEFENSE 

4 Subtitle A—Definitions 

5 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS RELATING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT, 

6 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, ETC., IN THE MILI7 TARY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 10, United 

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 102. Definitions relating to sexual assault, domes2 tic violence, etc. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO CONDUCT.—The 

4 following definitions apply in this title: 

5 ‘‘(1) DATING VIOLENCE.—The term ‘dating vio6 lence’ means violence committed by a person who is 

7 or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or 

8 intimate nature with the victim. 

9 ‘‘(2) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domes10 tic violence’ has the meaning given that term in sec11 tion 40002(a)(6) of the Violence Against Women 

12 Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)(6)). 

13 ‘‘(3) FAMILY VIOLENCE.—The term ‘family vio14 lence’ has the meaning given that term in section 

15 320(1) of the Family Violence Prevention and Serv16 ices Act (42 U.S.C. 10421(1)). 

17 ‘‘(4) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as18 sault’ has the meaning given that term in section 

19 40002(a)(23) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

20 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)(23)). 

21 ‘‘(5) SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—The term ‘sexual 

22 harassment’ means any conduct involving sexual 

23 harassment that— 

24 ‘‘(A) in the case of conduct of a person 

25 who is subject to the provisions of chapter 47 

26 of this title (the Uniform Code of Military JusVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H840.IH H840

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1 tice), comprises a violation of a provision of 

2 subchapter X of such chapter (relating to puni3 tive articles of such Code) or an applicable reg4 ulation, directive, or guideline regarding sexual 

5 harassment that is prescribed by the Secretary 

6 of Defense or the Secretary of a military de7 partment; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of an employee of the De9 partment of Defense or a family member sub10 ject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of De11 fense or of the Secretary of a military depart12 ment, comprises a violation of a regulation, di13 rective, or guideline that is applicable to such 

14 employee or family member. 

15 ‘‘(6) SEXUAL VIOLENCE.—The term ‘sexual vio16 lence’ means any of the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) Sexual abuse. 

18 ‘‘(B) Sexual assault. 

19 ‘‘(C) Sexual battery. 

20 ‘‘(D) Rape. 

21 ‘‘(7) STALKING.—The term ‘stalking’ has the 

22 meaning given that term in section 40002(a)(24) of 

23 the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

24 13925(a)(24)). 


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1 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO VICTIMS.—The fol2 lowing definitions apply in this title: 

3 ‘‘(1) VICTIM.—The term ‘victim’ means a per4 son who is a victim of sexual assault, domestic vio5 lence, family violence, stalking, or sexual misconduct 

6 committed— 

7 ‘‘(A) by or upon a member of the armed 

8 forces; 

9 ‘‘(B) by or upon a family member of a 

10 member of the armed forces; 

11 ‘‘(C) by or upon a person who shares a 

12 child in common with a member of the armed 

13 forces; 

14 ‘‘(D) by or upon a person who is cohab15 iting with or has cohabited as a spouse with a 

16 member of the armed forces; 

17 ‘‘(E) by or upon a person similarly situ18 ated to a spouse of a member of the armed 

19 forces; or 

20 ‘‘(F) by or upon any other person who is 

21 protected from the acts of a member of the 

22 Armed Forces or an officer or employee of the 

23 Department of Defense in the official capacity 

24 of that member, officer, or employee. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REPRESENTATIVE OF THE VICTIM.—The 

2 term ‘representative of the victim’ means, with re3 spect to a victim who is deceased, the person who is 

4 listed first among the following (other than a person 

5 who is considered a perpetrator with respect to the 

6 victim): 

7 ‘‘(A) The surviving spouse. 

8 ‘‘(B) A surviving child of the decedent who 

9 has attained 18 years of age. 

10 ‘‘(C) A surviving parent of the decedent. 

11 ‘‘(D) A surviving adult relative. 

12 ‘‘(E) The public administrator appointed 

13 by a probate court, if one has been appointed. 

14 ‘‘(3) PARTNER.—The term ‘partner’ means any 

15 of the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) A person who is or has been in a so17 cial relationship of a romantic or intimate na18 ture with another. 

19 ‘‘(B) A person who shares a child in com20 mon with another person. 

21 ‘‘(C) A person who is cohabiting with or 

22 has cohabited as a spouse by regularly residing 

23 in the household. 

24 ‘‘(D) A person similarly situated to a 

25 spouse. 


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1 ‘‘(E) A former spouse. 

2 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO PROGRAMS AND OR3 GANIZATIONS.—The following definitions apply in this 

4 title: 

5 ‘‘(1) VICTIMS’ ADVOCATES PROGRAM.—The 

6 term ‘victims’ advocates program’ means a program 

7 established within a military department pursuant to 

8 section 1814(a) of this title. 

9 ‘‘(2) FAMILY ADVOCACY PROGRAM.—The term 

10 ‘family advocacy program’ has the meaning provided 

11 in Department of Defense Directive 6400.1, issued 

12 by the Office of Family Policy of the Department of 

13 Defense. 

14 ‘‘(3) VICTIM SERVICES ORGANIZATION.—The 

15 term ‘victim services organization’ means an organi16 zation (whether public or private) that provides ad17 vice, counseling, or assistance to victims of domestic 

18 violence, family violence, dating violence, stalking, or 

19 sexual assault, or to the families of such victims. 

20 ‘‘(d) OTHER.—The following definitions apply in this 

21 title: 

22 ‘‘(1) PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMA23 TION.—The term ‘personally identifying information’ 

24 has the meaning given that term in section 1816(b) 

25 of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION.—The term 

2 ‘electronic communication’ has the meaning given 

3 that term in section 2510(12) of title 18. 

4 ‘‘(3) TRANSITIONAL HOUSING.—The term 

5 ‘transitional housing’ has the meaning given that 

6 term in section 424(b) of the McKinney-Vento 

7 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11384(b)), ex8 cept that the term includes short-term housing. 

9 ‘‘(4) COMPLAINT.—The term ‘complaint’, with 

10 respect to an allegation of family violence, sexual as11 sault, stalking, or domestic violence, includes a re12 port of such allegation. 

13 ‘‘(5) MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFI14 CIAL.—The term ‘military law enforcement official’ 

15 means a person authorized under regulations gov16 erning the armed forces to apprehend persons sub17 ject to chapter 47 of this title (the Uniform Code of 

18 Military Justice) or to trial thereunder. 

19 ‘‘(e) PROOF OF RELATIONSHIP.—For purposes of ap20 plying the definitions in subsection (a)(1) (relating to dat21 ing violence) and subsection (b)(3) (relating to partner), 

22 the existence of a relationship as described in that sub23 section shall be determined based on a consideration of— 

24 ‘‘(1) the length of the relationship; 

25 ‘‘(2) the type of relationship; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the frequency of interaction between the 

2 persons involved in the relationship.’’. 

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

4 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 102. Definitions relating to sexual assault, domestic violence, etc.’’. 

6 Subtitle B—Office of Victims’ Advo7 cate and Department of Defense 

8 Interdisciplinary Council 

9 SEC. 111. OFFICE OF THE VICTIMS’ ADVOCATE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of subtitle A of title 10, 

11 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following new chapter: 

13 ‘‘CHAPTER 90—OFFICE OF THE VICTIMS’ 

14 ADVOCATE 

‘‘Sec. 1811. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: establishment; Director. 

‘‘Sec. 1812. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: responsibilities. 

‘‘Sec. 1813. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: comprehensive policy on prevention 

of and response to domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault and stalking involving members of the Armed Forces and 

their families and partners. 

‘‘Sec. 1814. Victims’ advocates programs in the military departments. 

‘‘Sec. 1815. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: access. 

‘‘Sec. 1816. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: confidentiality. 

‘‘Sec. 1817. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: victim protection actions. 

‘‘Sec. 1818. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: victims advocates whistleblower 

protections. 

‘‘Sec. 1819. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: annual assessment. 

‘‘Sec. 1820. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: annual report. 

‘‘Sec. 1821. Requirements on use of funds. 


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1 ‘‘§ 1811. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: establish2 ment; Director 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the Office of the 

4 Secretary of Defense an Office of the Victims’ Advocate 

5 (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as the ‘Office’). 

6 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—(1) The head of the Office is a Di7 rector, who shall be a person with knowledge of victims’ 

8 rights, advocacy, social services, and Federal, State, and 

9 military systems. The Director shall oversee the victims’ 

10 advocate programs and the family advocacy programs of 

11 the Department of Defense. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Director shall be a person who is qualified 

13 by training and expertise to perform the responsibilities 

14 of the Director and who has a significant level of experi15 ence in advocacy for victims of sexual assault, domestic 

16 violence, family violence, and stalking. 

17 ‘‘(3) The position of Director is a Senior Executive 

18 Service position. The Secretary of Defense shall designate 

19 the position as a career reserved position under section 

20 3132(b) of title 5. 

21 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of Defense shall consult with the 

22 interdisciplinary council established under section 185 of 

23 this title in the appointment of the Director. 

24 ‘‘(c) VICTIMS’ ADVOCATES.—(1) Victims’ advocates 

25 shall be assigned to, employed by, or contracted for by 

26 the Director and shall be assigned to the Director. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Victim advocates shall be qualified by training, 

2 expertise, and certification to perform the responsibilities 

3 of the position and possessing a significant level of knowl4 edge relative to the armed forces and experience in advo5 cacy for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, fam6 ily violence, and stalking. 

7 ‘‘(3) The victim advocates report to the Director or 

8 to the Director’s designee within the Office. 

9 ‘‘§ 1812. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: responsibil10 ities 

11 ‘‘(a) GENERAL FUNCTIONS.—(1) The Office shall fa12 cilitate access to services for victims of domestic violence, 

13 family violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

14 ‘‘(2) The Office shall provide for victim advocates in 

15 the Department of Defense for purposes of victims’ advo16 cates programs of the Department. Victims’ advocates 

17 may be Department of Defense employees or contractor 

18 employees. The Director shall ensure that victim advocates 

19 receive or have received specialized training in the coun20 seling and support of victims. 

21 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS OF VICTIM ADVOCATES.—In 

22 order to be employed as a victim advocate by the Depart23 ment of Defense or under a contract with the Department 

24 of Defense, an individual— 


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1 ‘‘(1) must have a degree in counseling or a re2 lated field or have one year of counseling experience, 

3 at least six months of which must have been in the 

4 counseling of sexual assault or domestic violence vic5 tims; and 

6 ‘‘(2) must have had at least 60 hours of train7 ing as specified by regulations prescribed by the Di8 rector, including training in the following areas: 

9 ‘‘(A) History of domestic violence and sex10 ual assault. 

11 ‘‘(B) Civil, criminal, and military law as it 

12 relates to domestic violence and sexual assault. 

13 ‘‘(C) Societal attitudes. 

14 ‘‘(D) Peer counseling techniques. 

15 ‘‘(E) Housing. 

16 ‘‘(F) Public and private assistance avail17 able to victims. 

18 ‘‘(G) Financial resources for victims. 

19 ‘‘(H) Safety and protection resources for 

20 victims. 

21 ‘‘(I) Victim and transitional compensation. 

22 ‘‘(J) Benefits. 

23 ‘‘(K) Referral services available to victims. 


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1 ‘‘(L) Military culture and an under2 standing of how to operate within a military 

3 chain of command. 

4 ‘‘(c) HEALTH CARE ASSISTANCE.—Upon request of 

5 a victim of domestic violence, family violence, sexual as6 sault, or stalking, the Director shall assist the victim in 

7 obtaining from any facility of the uniformed services or 

8 any other health care facility of the United States or, by 

9 contract, from any other source, medical services, coun10 seling, and other mental health services appropriate for 

11 treatment of injuries resulting from the domestic violence, 

12 family violence, sexual assault, or stalking, as otherwise 

13 authorized by law, including— 

14 ‘‘(1) rape evidence kits; 

15 ‘‘(2) DNA testing; 

16 ‘‘(3) sexually transmitted diseases screening and 

17 treatment, including Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C screen18 ing and treatment; 

19 ‘‘(4) HIV screening and treatment; 

20 ‘‘(5) pregnancy testing; 

21 ‘‘(6) methods of pregnancy prevention approved by 

22 the Food and Drug Administration; 

23 ‘‘(7) reproductive health services; and 

24 ‘‘(8) other mental and physiological results of the do25 mestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 


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1 ‘‘(d) GENERAL COORDINATION FUNCTIONS.—The 

2 Director shall coordinate programs and activities of the 

3 military departments relative to services and treatment for 

4 victims of domestic violence, family violence, sexual as5 sault, and stalking. 

6 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION AND REVIEW RESPONSIBIL7 ITIES.—The Director shall carry out the following ongoing 

8 evaluations and reviews: 

9 ‘‘(1) Evaluation of the policies and protocols es10 tablished by the military departments providing serv11 ices and treatment referred to in subsection (e), with 

12 a view towards the rights of victims of domestic vio13 lence, family violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

14 ‘‘(2) Evaluation of the programs established by 

15 the military departments providing services to vic16 tims of domestic violence, family violence, sexual as17 sault, and stalking. 

18 ‘‘(3) Evaluation of the delivery of services of 

19 the military departments that provide services and 

20 treatment to victims of domestic violence, family vio21 lence, sexual assault, and stalking through funds 

22 provided by the Department of Defense, Department 

23 of Justice, or Department of Health and Human 

24 Services. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Annual review of the facilities of the De2 partment of Defense providing services to victims of 

3 domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, or 

4 stalking. 

5 ‘‘(5) Annual review of the National Domestic 

6 Violence Hotline, the National Sexual Assault Hot7 line, and the American Women Overseas Hotline rel8 ative to projects for military personnel, families, and 

9 partners and for victims of domestic violence, family 

10 violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

11 ‘‘(6) Annual review of the victim witness assist12 ance programs within the Department of Defense. 

13 ‘‘(7) Review of information from an individual 

14 (and of any investigation resulting from the submis15 sion of such information) indicating that a victim 

16 may be in need of, or would benefit from, assistance 

17 from a victim advocate. 

18 ‘‘(f) EDUCATION AND TRAINING RESPONSIBIL19 ITIES.—(1) The Director shall conduct, or provide for the 

20 conduct of, training and shall provide technical assistance 

21 related to domestic violence, family violence, sexual as22 sault, and stalking within the military departments. Such 

23 training shall be mandatory, as prescribed by the Director, 

24 except to the extent necessary due to military exigencies. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Director shall develop curricula for manda2 tory training of personnel, including first responders, secu3 rity forces, law enforcement, medical personnel, command 

4 staff, military justice personnel, and military criminal in5 vestigators. 

6 ‘‘(3) The Director shall conduct education and out7 reach programs. Such programs shall include the develop8 ment and distribution of brochures, booklets, posters, and 

9 handbooks outlining hotlines, services, contact informa10 tion, policies, and protocols for victims. 

11 ‘‘§ 1813. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: comprehen12 sive policy on prevention of and response 

13 to domestic violence, family violence, sex14 ual assault and stalking involving mem15 bers of the Armed Forces and their fami16 lies and partners 

17 ‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITY.—The Secretary of Defense, 

18 acting through the Director of the Office, shall implement 

19 the comprehensive policy developed pursuant to subsection 

20 (c), subject to such modifications as the Secretary con21 siders advisable. 

22 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF COMPREHENSIVE POLICY TO

23 MILITARY DEPARTMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

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1 mented pursuant to subsection (a) is implemented uni2 formly by the Secretaries of the military departments. 

3 ‘‘(c) POLICY.—(1) The Director shall recommend to 

4 the Secretary of Defense a comprehensive policy on pre5 vention of and response to domestic violence, family vio6 lence, sexual assault and stalking involving members of 

7 the armed forces and their families and partners. The 

8 comprehensive policy should be as uniform as practicable 

9 throughout the Department of Defenses and shall, to the 

10 extent feasible, incorporate and strengthen policies pre11 viously in existence. 

12 ‘‘(2) To the extent feasible, the comprehensive policy 

13 shall set forth policies and procedures with respect to each 

14 of domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, and 

15 stalking in each of the following areas: 

16 ‘‘(A) Prevention measures. 

17 ‘‘(B) Education and training on prevention and 

18 response. 

19 ‘‘(C) Investigation of complaints by command 

20 and law enforcement personnel. 

21 ‘‘(D) Medical treatment of victims. 

22 ‘‘(E) Confidential reporting of incidents. 

23 ‘‘(F) Victim advocacy and response. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Oversight by commanders of administra2 tive and disciplinary actions in response to substan3 tiated incidents. 

4 ‘‘(H) Disposition of victims, including review by 

5 appropriate authority of administrative separation 

6 actions involving victims. 

7 ‘‘(I) Disposition of members of the armed 

8 forces accused of domestic violence, family violence, 

9 sexual assault, or stalking. 

10 ‘‘(J) Liaison and collaboration with civilian 

11 agencies on the provision of services to victims. 

12 ‘‘(K) Uniform collection of data on the inci13 dence of complaints of domestic violence, family vio14 lence, sexual assault, and stalking and on discipli15 nary actions taken in those cases, with such data to 

16 be disaggregated by service and by major installa17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(3) The comprehensive policy shall include for each 

19 of the military departments the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) A program to promote awareness of the 

21 incidence of domestic violence, family violence, sex22 ual assault, and stalking involving members of the 

23 armed forces. 

24 ‘‘(B) A program to provide victim advocacy and 

25 intervention for members of the armed forces who 


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1 are victims of domestic violence, family violence, sex2 ual assault, and stalking, which program shall make 

3 available, at military installations and in deployed lo4 cations, victims advocates who are readily available 

5 to intervene on behalf of such victims. 

6 ‘‘(C) Procedures for members of the armed 

7 forces to follow in the case of an incident of domes8 tic violence, family violence, sexual assault, or stalk9 ing involving a member of the Armed Forces, includ10 ing— 

11 ‘‘(i) procedures for confidential reporting 

12 and for seeking services with victim advocates; 

13 ‘‘(ii) specification of the person or persons 

14 to whom the alleged offense should be reported; 

15 ‘‘(iii) specification of any other person 

16 whom the victim should contact; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) procedures for the preservation of 

18 evidence. 

19 ‘‘(D) Procedures for disciplinary action in cases 

20 of domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, 

21 and stalking by members of the armed forces. 

22 ‘‘(E) Other sanctions authorized to be imposed 

23 in cases of sexual assault by members of the armed 

24 forces. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Training for all members of the armed 

2 forces, including specific training for members of the 

3 armed forces who process allegations of domestic vi4 olence, family violence, sexual assault, and stalking 

5 committed by or upon members of the armed forces. 

6 ‘‘(G) Any other matter that the Secretary of 

7 Defense, in consultation with the Director of the Of8 fice of the Victims’ Advocate, considers appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Director shall from 

10 time to time recommend to the Secretary of Defense revi11 sions to Department of Defense policies, personnel, and 

12 procedures for dealing with domestic violence, family vio13 lence, sexual assault, and stalking based on evaluations 

14 carried out under section 1818(b) of this title and as the 

15 Director considers appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(e) PROCEDURES TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIAL

17 COMMUNICATIONS.—The Director shall establish proce18 dures to implement the protection of confidential commu19 nications provided under section 1816 of this title. 

20 ‘‘§ 1814. Victims’ advocates programs in the military 

21 departments 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary of De23 fense, acting through the Director of the Office, shall re24 quire that policies and regulations of the Department of 

25 Defense with respect to the programs of the Department 


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1 of Defense specified in paragraph (2) provide within each 

2 of the military departments a victims’ advocates program. 

3 ‘‘(2) Programs referred to in paragraph (1) are the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(A) Victim and witness assistance programs. 

6 ‘‘(B) Family advocacy programs. 

7 ‘‘(C) Equal opportunity programs. 

8 ‘‘(3) In the case of the Department of the Navy, sepa9 rate victims’ advocates programs shall be established for 

10 the Navy and for the Marine Corps. 

11 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—A victims’ advocates program estab12 lished pursuant to subsection (a) shall provide assistance 

13 described in subsection (d) to members of the armed 

14 forces and their family members and partners who are vic15 tims of any of the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) Crime. 

17 ‘‘(2) Sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. 

18 ‘‘(3) Discrimination or harassment based on 

19 race, gender, ethnic background, national origin, or 

20 religion. 

21 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.—(1) Under a victims’ advocates 

22 program established under subsection (a), individuals 

23 working in the program shall principally serve the inter24 ests of a victim by initiating action to provide the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Crisis intervention. 

2 ‘‘(B) Screening and evaluation of the needs of 

3 victims of domestic violence, family violence, sexual 

4 assault, and stalking. 

5 ‘‘(C) Information on safe and confidential ways 

6 to seek assistance to address domestic violence, fam7 ily violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

8 ‘‘(D) Information on available services within 

9 the military departments and civilian communities. 

10 ‘‘(E) Assistance in obtaining the services re11 ferred to in subparagraph (D), including medical 

12 treatment for injuries. 

13 ‘‘(F) Appropriate referrals to military and civil14 ian community-based domestic violence programs 

15 and sexual assault victim service providers with the 

16 capacity to support members of the armed forces 

17 and their family members or partners. 

18 ‘‘(G) Information on legal rights and resources 

19 for personnel, family members, or partners in both 

20 the military and civilian programs. 

21 ‘‘(H) Development and coordination of a safety 

22 plan with appropriate assistance and intervention 

23 components including, law enforcement, command, 

24 and Family Advocacy Program. 


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1 ‘‘(I) Advocacy for victims specified in subsection 

2 (b), including assistance in obtaining and entering 

3 no contact orders from military commands or orders 

4 of protection from a court of appropriate jurisdic5 tion, respectively. 

6 ‘‘(J) Information on benefits, including Depart7 ment of Defense transitional compensation, victims 

8 of crime compensation, and veterans’ benefits. 

9 ‘‘(K) Coordination among services, including 

10 medical, legal, and psychological counseling. 

11 ‘‘(L) Education. 

12 ‘‘(M) Transportation. 

13 ‘‘(N) Pre-trial, trial, and post-trial support. 

14 ‘‘(2) Under a victims’ advocates program established 

15 under subsection (a), an individual working in the pro16 gram as a victim advocate shall carry out the following 

17 functions: 

18 ‘‘(A) Serve as a voting member of the case re19 view committee of the Department of Defense for 

20 any case to which the victim advocate is assigned. 

21 ‘‘(B) Serve as a liaison with civilian community22 based service providers. 

23 ‘‘(C) Provide for confidential handling of all 

24 documents or conversations relative to victim care, 

25 services, benefits, and treatment. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Provide advocacy for the expressed inter2 est and safety of a victim during testimony in a 

3 court-martial or civilian judicial system. 

4 ‘‘(E) Provide follow-up to all identified victims 

5 (including those who have declined services) three 

6 months following initial contact to ascertain whether 

7 further intervention is, or is not, warranted. 

8 ‘‘(F) Provide other appropriate assistance. 

9 ‘‘(3) Services under such a program in the case of 

10 an individual who is a victim of family violence (including 

11 sexual, physical, and emotional abuse) shall be provided 

12 principally through the Office. 

13 ‘‘(d) STAFFING.—The Secretary of Defense, acting 

14 through the Director of the Office, shall provide for the 

15 assignment of personnel (military or civilian) on a full16 time basis to victims’ advocates programs established 

17 under subsection (a). The Secretary, acting through the 

18 Director, shall ensure that sufficient numbers of such full19 time personnel are assigned to those programs to enable 

20 the programs to be carried out effectively, including the 

21 assignment of victim advocates to deployed units. 

22 ‘‘§ 1815. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: access 

23 ‘‘(a) ACCESS TO SENIOR OFFICIALS.—The Director 

24 of the Office shall have direct and prompt access to any 


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1 of the following when necessary for any purpose pertaining 

2 to the performance of the Director’s duties: 

3 ‘‘(1) The Judge Advocate General of the Army, 

4 Navy, or Air Force or the Staff Judge Advocate to 

5 the Commandant of the Marine Corps. 

6 ‘‘(2) The Surgeon General of the Army, Navy, 

7 or the Air Force. 

8 ‘‘(3) The Chief of Chaplains of the Army, Navy, 

9 or the Air Force. 

10 ‘‘(4) The senior general or flag officer of one of 

11 the Armed Forces with responsibility specifically for 

12 personnel. 

13 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Director shall 

14 have direct and prompt access to the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) The name and location of a victim receiv16 ing services, treatment, or other assistance under 

17 the jurisdiction of a military department. 

18 ‘‘(2) Any written report of sexual assault, sex19 ual misconduct, domestic violence, family violence, or 

20 stalking prepared by a military department. 

21 ‘‘(3) Victim case files, subject to the informed, 

22 written, and time-sensitive authorization of the vic23 tim, in records of law enforcement, criminal inves24 tigative organizations, health care providers, and 

25 command and Family Advocacy Programs, as may 


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1 be necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the 

2 Office. 

3 ‘‘(c) FAILURE TO PROVIDE AUTHORIZATION.—The 

4 failure of a victim to provide authorization under sub5 section (b)(3) shall not interfere with a case moving for6 ward. 

7 ‘‘(d) CONFIDENTIALITY.—To the extent that any in8 formation covered by subsection (b) provides the name and 

9 address of an individual who is the subject of a confiden10 tial proceeding, that name and address (and related infor11 mation that has the effect of identifying that individual) 

12 may not be released to the public without the informed 

13 written consent of such individual. 

14 ‘‘§ 1816. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: confiden15 tiality 

16 ‘‘(a) CONFIDENTIALITY.—(1) Except as provided in 

17 paragraph (2), in order to ensure the safety of victims of 

18 domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, sexual 

19 misconduct, or stalking and their families, the Director 

20 shall protect the confidentiality and privacy of persons re21 ceiving services. The Director may not disclose any per22 sonally identifying information or individual information 

23 collected in connection with services requested, used, or 

24 denied through its programs. The Director may not reveal 

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1 ten, reasonably time-limited consent of the person (or in 

2 the case of unemancipated minor, the minor and the par3 ent or guardian) about whom information is sought. 

4 ‘‘(2) If release of information referred to in para5 graph (1) is compelled by law or by court order, the Direc6 tor shall make reasonable attempts to provide notice to 

7 victims affected by the disclosure of the information. If 

8 such personally identifying information is or will be re9 vealed, the Director shall take steps necessary to protect 

10 the privacy and safety of the persons affected by the re11 lease of the information. 

12 ‘‘(3) The Director may share nonpersonally identi13 fying data in the aggregate regarding services to victims 

14 and nonpersonally identifying demographic information in 

15 order to comply with reporting, evaluation, or data collec16 tion requirements of the armed forces or of Federal, State, 

17 or local or tribal government or the government of the Dis18 trict of Columbia or any territory or commonwealth. 

19 ‘‘(4) The Director may share court-generated infor20 mation contained in secure, governmental registries for 

21 purposes of enforcement of protection orders. 

22 ‘‘(b) PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.—In 

23 this section, the term ‘personally identifying information’ 

24 means the following information about an individual: 

25 ‘‘(1) A first and last name. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A home or other physical address, includ2 ing street name and name of city or town. 

3 ‘‘(3) An email address or other online contact 

4 information, such as an instant messaging user iden5 tifier or a screen name, that reveals the individual’s 

6 email address. 

7 ‘‘(4) A telephone number. 

8 ‘‘(5) A Social Security number. 

9 ‘‘(6) An Internet Protocol (IP) address or host 

10 name that identifies an individual. 

11 ‘‘(7) A persistent identifier, such as a customer 

12 number held in a cookie or processor serial number, 

13 that is combined with other available data that iden14 tifies an individual. 

15 ‘‘(8) If the individual is a member or former 

16 member of the armed forces— 

17 ‘‘(A) the status of the individual as a 

18 member of an active component or reserve com19 ponent or as a veteran; 

20 ‘‘(B) the individual’s current or most re21 cent grade, rate, or rank; 

22 ‘‘(C) the individual’s current or most re23 cent duty station or deployment status; and 

24 ‘‘(D) the individual’s current or most re25 cent unit at a level below regiment (or the 


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1 equivalent), numbered air force (or the equiva2 lent), or numbered fleet (or the equivalent). 

3 ‘‘(9) Any other information, including grade 

4 point average, date of birth, academic or occupa5 tional assignments or interests, athletic or extra6 curricular interests, racial or ethnic background, or 

7 religious affiliation, that, in combination with infor8 mation specified in any of paragraphs (1) through 

9 (8), would serve to identify an individual. 

10 ‘‘§ 1817. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: victim pro11 tection actions 

12 ‘‘(a) ORDERS OF PROTECTION.—The Director of the 

13 Office of the Victims’ Advocate, when authorized by a vic14 tim of sexual misconduct, sexual assault, family violence, 

15 domestic violence, or stalking, shall assist the victim in 

16 obtaining from any military command a military no-con17 tact order or from a court of appropriate jurisdiction an 

18 order of protection, respectively, to safeguard the victim 

19 from additional physical or emotional harm. 

20 ‘‘(b) REMOVAL OF AN ALLEGED OFFENDER.—If the 

21 Director determines that it is appropriate to do so in order 

22 to ensure the safety of a victim, the Director may request 

23 from the appropriate commanding officer an order for the 

24 relocation or reassignment of an alleged offender who is 

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1 ciplinary action, or court-martial in order to ensure the 

2 safety of a victim. 

3 ‘‘§ 1818. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: victims’ advo4 cates whistleblower protections 

5 ‘‘(a) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.—(1) No per6 son may restrict a victim advocate within the Department 

7 of Defense in communicating with a victim or survivor of 

8 domestic violence, sexual assault, family violence, or stalk9 ing. 

10 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a communica11 tion that is unlawful. 

12 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATORY PERSONNEL

13 ACTIONS.—No person may take or threaten to take an 

14 unfavorable personnel action, or withhold or threaten to 

15 withhold a favorable personnel action, against a victim ad16 vocate as a reprisal for— 

17 ‘‘(1) providing services to victims and survivors 

18 of domestic violence, sexual assault, family violence, 

19 intimate partner violence, or stalking; 

20 ‘‘(2) a communication to a Member of Congress 

21 or an Inspector General; 

22 ‘‘(3) a communication with a military law en23 forcement officer or official, a military criminal in24 vestigator, a judge advocate, or an officer in the 

25 chain of command; 


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1 ‘‘(4) a communication with civilian law enforce2 ment, county, State, or United States attorneys, 

3 court officials, probation officers, or victim service 

4 providers; or 

5 ‘‘(5) any other person or organization, including 

6 any person or organization in the chain of command, 

7 in the course of providing services to a victim or sur8 vivor. 

9 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED PERSONNEL ACTIONS.—Any ac10 tion prohibited by subsection (b), including the threat to 

11 take any unfavorable action and the withholding or threat 

12 to withhold any favorable action, shall be considered for 

13 the purposes of this section to be a personnel action pro14 hibited by this section. 

15 ‘‘(d) INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGATIONS OF PROHIB16 ITED PERSONNEL ACTIONS.—(1) If a victim advocate 

17 submits to an Inspector General an allegation that a per18 sonnel action prohibited by subsection (b) has been taken 

19 or threatened against the victim advocate with respect to 

20 a communication described in paragraph (2), the Inspec21 tor General shall take the action required in this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) A communication described in this paragraph is 

23 a communication in which the victim advocate reasonably 

24 believes constitutes evidence of any of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A violation of law or regulation, including 

2 a law or regulation prohibiting domestic violence, 

3 sexual assault, family violence, or stalking. 

4 ‘‘(B) Gross mismanagement, an abuse of au5 thority, or a substantial danger to community safety 

6 or public health. 

7 ‘‘(3)(A) If the Inspector General receiving such an 

8 allegation is an Inspector General within a military de9 partment, that Inspector General shall promptly notify the 

10 Inspector General of the Department of Defense of the 

11 allegation. Such notification shall be made in accordance 

12 with regulations prescribed under subsection (e). 

13 ‘‘(B) An Inspector General of the Department of De14 fense receiving an allegation as described in this section 

15 shall expeditiously determine, in accordance with regula16 tions prescribed under subsection (e), whether there is suf17 ficient evidence to warrant an investigation of the allega18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(C) Upon determining that an investigation of an 

20 allegation under this section is warranted, the Inspector 

21 General making the determination shall expeditiously in22 vestigate the allegation. 

23 ‘‘(4) The Inspector General of the Department of De24 fense shall ensure that the Inspector General conducting 

25 the investigation of an allegation under this subsection is 


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1 outside the immediate chain of command of both the vic2 tim advocate submitting the allegation and the individual 

3 or individuals alleged to have taken the retaliatory action. 

4 ‘‘(5) Upon receiving an allegation under this sub5 section, the Inspector General shall conduct a separate in6 vestigation of the information that the victim advocate 

7 making the allegation believes constitutes evidence of 

8 wrongdoing as described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

9 paragraph (2) if there previously has not been such an 

10 investigation or if the Inspector General determines that 

11 the original investigation was biased or otherwise inad12 equate. 

13 ‘‘(6)(A) After completion of an investigation under 

14 paragraphs (3), (4), or (5), the Inspector General con15 ducting the investigation shall submit a report on the re16 sults of the investigation to the Secretary of Defense and 

17 the Director of the Office of the Victims’ Advocate and 

18 shall transmit a copy of the report on the results of the 

19 investigation to the victim advocate who made the allega20 tion investigated. The report shall be transmitted to the 

21 Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Office of the 

22 Victims’ Advocate, and the copy of the report shall be 

23 transmitted to the victim advocate, not later than 30 days 

24 after the completion of the investigation. 


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1 ‘‘(B) In the copy of the report transmitted to the vic2 tim advocate, the Inspector General shall ensure that the 

3 maximum disclosure of information possible, with the ex4 ception of information that is not required to be disclosed 

5 under section 552 of title 5. However, the copy need not 

6 include summaries of interviews conducted, nor any docu7 ment acquired, during the course of the investigation. 

8 Such items shall be transmitted to the victim advocate, 

9 if the victim advocate requests the items, with the copy 

10 of the report or after the transmittal to the victim advo11 cate of the copy of the report, regardless of whether the 

12 request for those items is made before or after the copy 

13 of the report is transmitted to the victim advocate. 

14 ‘‘(C) If, in the course of an investigation of an allega15 tion under this section, the Inspector General determines 

16 that it is not possible to submit the report required by 

17 subparagraph (A) within 180 days after the date of receipt 

18 of the allegation being investigated, the Inspector General 

19 shall provide to the Secretary of Defense and to the victim 

20 advocate making the allegation a notice— 

21 ‘‘(i) of that determination including the reasons 

22 why the report may not be submitted within that 

23 time; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) of the time when the report will be sub25 mitted. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The report on the results of the investigation 

2 shall contain a thorough review of the facts and cir3 cumstances relevant to the allegation and the complaint 

4 or disclosure and shall include documents acquired during 

5 the course of the investigation, including summaries of 

6 interviews conducted. The report may include a rec7 ommendation as to the disposition of the complaint. 

8 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—(1) The Secretary of Defense 

9 shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section. In pre10 scribing regulations under this section, the Secretary of 

11 Defense shall provide for appropriate procedural protec12 tions for the subject of any investigation carried out under 

13 the provisions of this section, including a process of appeal 

14 and review of investigative findings. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall provide in the regulations 

16 that a violation of the prohibition by a person subject to 

17 chapter 47 of this title is punishable as a violation of sec18 tion 892 of this title (article 92 of the Uniform Code of 

19 Military Justice). 

20 ‘‘§ 1819. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: annual as21 sessment 

22 ‘‘(a) DATA COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING.—The Di23 rector of the Office of the Victims’ Advocate shall annually 

24 compile data collected during the preceding year by the 

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1 lence, family violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The 

2 data shall be compiled pursuant to policies set forth by 

3 the Director. 

4 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF POLICIES AND PROCE5 DURES.—Not later than January 15 each year, the Direc6 tor shall conduct an assessment of the implementation 

7 during the preceding fiscal year of the policies and proce8 dures of the military departments on the prevention of and 

9 response to domestic violence, family violence, sexual as10 sault, and stalking involving members of the armed forces 

11 in order to determine the effectiveness of such policies and 

12 procedures during such fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(c) PERSONNEL ANALYSIS.—The annual assess14 ment under subsection (b) shall include a review of per15 sonnel, including staffing levels, assignments, accessibility, 

16 availability, training, and duties of victim advocates, vic17 tim witness liaisons, sexual assault nurse examiners, and 

18 others considered appropriate by the Director assigned to 

19 assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, family 

20 violence, and stalking. The assessment shall include a re21 view of personnel assigned to deployed units, along with 

22 recommendations to enhance availability, accessibility, and 

23 training for such personnel. 

24 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENT OF STATUTES AND DIRECTIVES.— 

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1 in the military departments in response to domestic vio2 lence, family violence, sexual assault, and stalking, the an3 nual assessment under subsection (b) shall include a re4 view of— 

5 ‘‘(1) chapter 47 of this title (the Uniform Code 

6 of Military Justice), the provisions of law in force at 

7 the time of the assessment that were originally en8 acted by the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act or 

9 the Violence Against Women Act, and other Federal 

10 statutes applicable to domestic violence, sexual as11 sault, family violence, and stalking; 

12 ‘‘(2) directives of the military departments; and 

13 ‘‘(3) regulations of the military departments 

14 considered appropriate by the Director. 

15 ‘‘§ 1820. Office of the Victims’ Advocate: annual re16 port 

17 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—(1) Not later than January 

18 15 of each year, the Director shall submit to the Secretary 

19 of Defense a report on domestic violence, family violence, 

20 sexual assault, and stalking involving members of the 

21 Armed Forces during the preceding year. 

22 ‘‘(2) Each report under paragraph (1) shall include 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(A) The most recent compilation of data under 

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1 parison of that data (or subsets of that data) with 

2 comparable data from the civilian sector. 

3 ‘‘(B) The results of the most recent assessment 

4 under section 1819(b) of this title. 

5 ‘‘(C) The number of incidents of domestic vio6 lence, family violence, sexual assault, and stalking 

7 committed by or upon members of the armed forces 

8 that were reported to military officials during the 

9 year covered by the report and the number of the 

10 cases so reported that were substantiated. 

11 ‘‘(D) A summary of the types of cases and the 

12 disciplinary action taken in each type of case. 

13 ‘‘(E) The policies, procedures, and processes 

14 implemented by the military departments during the 

15 year covered by the report in response to incidents 

16 of domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, 

17 and stalking involving members of the armed forces. 

18 ‘‘(F) A plan for the actions that are to be taken 

19 in the fiscal year following the fiscal year covered by 

20 the report on the prevention of and response to do21 mestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, and 

22 stalking involving members of the armed forces. 

23 ‘‘(b) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL

24 COMMITTEES.—The Secretary of Defense shall transmit 

25 to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and 


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1 the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep2 resentatives each annual report submitted to the Secretary 

3 under subsection (a), together with the comments of the 

4 Secretary on such report. The Secretary shall transmit the 

5 report for any year not later than March 15 of the fol6 lowing year. 

7 ‘‘§ 1821. Requirements on use of funds 

8 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Of the amounts appropriated 

9 to carry out the functions of the Office for any fiscal year, 

10 the Secretary— 

11 ‘‘(1) shall use not less than 20 percent for pro12 grams addressing domestic violence, family violence, 

13 sexual assault, and stalking that are operated by, or 

14 in partnership with, civilian victim services; and 

15 ‘‘(2) shall use not less than 5 percent for tech16 nical assistance and training to be provided by orga17 nizations having demonstrated expertise in devel18 oping collaborative community and system responses 

19 to domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, 

20 and stalking. 

21 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.— 

22 Technical assistance and training under subsection (a)(2) 

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1 munity responses, whether they are receiving funds under 

2 this section or not.’’ 

3 (b) TRANSITION PROVISIONS.— 

4 (1) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY.—The policy re5 quired by section 1812(a) of title 10, United States 

6 Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be prescribed 

7 by the Secretary of Defense not later than the end 

8 of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 (2) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION REGULA11 TIONS.—The regulations required by section 1817(e) 

12 of title 10, United States Code, as added by sub13 section (a), shall be prescribed by the Secretary of 

14 Defense not later than 120 days after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act. 

16 (3) FIRST ANNUAL REPORT.—The first report 

17 under subsection (a) of section 1819(a) of such title, 

18 as added by subsection (a)— 

19 (A) shall be submitted to the Secretary of 

20 Defense not later than April 1 of the year after 

21 the year in which this Act is enacted (notwith22 standing the date specified in that subsection); 

23 and 

24 (B) shall be transmitted by the Secretary 

25 to the Committee on Armed Services of the 


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1 Senate and Committee on Armed Services of 

2 the House of Representatives pursuant to sub3 section (b) of that section not later than May 

4 1 of that year (notwithstanding the date speci5 fied in that subsection). 

6 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The tables of chap7 ters at the beginning of subtitle A, and at the beginning 

8 of part II of subtitle A, of title 10, United States Code, 

9 are amended by inserting after the item relating to chap10 ter 88 the following new item: 

‘‘90. Office of the Victims’ Advocate ........................................................ 1811’’. 

11 SEC. 112. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE INTERDISCIPLINARY 

12 COUNCIL. 

13 (a) CODIFICATION AND REVISION OF COUNCIL ES14 TABLISHED UNDER PUBLIC LAW 103–337.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 10, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following new section: 

18 ‘‘§ 188. Department of Defense Interdisciplinary 

19 Council 

20 ‘‘(a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COUNCIL.—The 

21 Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Director of 

22 the Office of the Victims’ Advocate of the Department of 

23 Defense, shall establish a Department of Defense inter24 disciplinary council to coordinate and oversee victims’ ad25 vocates programs of the Department of Defense and to 


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1 oversee the efforts of the Department of Defense to pre2 vent and respond to violence against women and men. 

3 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—(1) The Council shall consist of 

4 12 members, appointed by the Secretary of Defense. The 

5 Council shall include members appointed from each of the 

6 Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps and shall in7 clude an equal number of personnel of the Department 

8 of Defense and persons from outside the Department of 

9 Defense. The six members appointed as personnel of the 

10 Department of Defense may include retired members of 

11 the Armed Forces. 

12 ‘‘(2) The six members appointed from outside the De13 partment of Defense may be appointed from other Federal 

14 departments and agencies, from State and local agencies, 

15 and from the private sector, but may not be members of 

16 the Armed Forces in a retired status. 

17 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that membership in18 cludes at least one judge advocate. 

19 ‘‘(4) Each member of the Interdisciplinary Council 

20 appointed from outside the Department of Defense— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall be an individual who has dem22 onstrated expertise and experience in the fields of 

23 sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence, or 

24 stalking, as well as expertise and experience in civil25 ian-military cooperation; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall be appointed from one of the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(i) The Centers for Disease Control and 

4 Prevention of the Department of Health and 

5 Human Services. 

6 ‘‘(ii) Civilian law enforcement. 

7 ‘‘(iii) A judicial policy organization. 

8 ‘‘(iv) A national crime victim organization. 

9 ‘‘(v) A victim service organization. 

10 ‘‘(vi) A survivor of domestic violence, sex11 ual assault, family violence, or stalking in which 

12 the perpetrator was a member of the Armed 

13 Forces. 

14 ‘‘(5) Members of the Interdisciplinary Council shall 

15 serve for a period of three years. The membership of the 

16 Interdisciplinary Council shall be rotated by composition 

17 and appointments as defined in paragraphs (1), (2), and 

18 (4) every three years. 

19 ‘‘(c) CO-CHAIRS.—There shall be two co-chairs of the 

20 Interdisciplinary Council. One of the co-chairs shall be 

21 designated by the Secretary of Defense at the time of ap22 pointment from among the Department of Defense per23 sonnel on the Interdisciplinary Council. The other co-chair 

24 shall be selected among the members appointed from out25 side the Department of Defense by those members. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Director of 

2 the Office of the Victims’ Advocate, under the direction 

3 of the Secretary of Defense, shall provide oversight of the 

4 Interdisciplinary Council. The Office of the Victims’ Advo5 cate shall provide the Interdisciplinary Council with per6 sonnel facilities and other administrative support as nec7 essary for the performance of the Interdisciplinary Coun8 cil’s duties. 

9 ‘‘(e) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Inter10 disciplinary Council who is a member of the Armed Forces 

11 or a civilian officer or employee of the United States shall 

12 serve without compensation (other than compensation to 

13 which entitled as a member of the armed forces or an offi14 cer or an employee of the United States, as the case may 

15 be). Other members of the Interdisciplinary Council shall 

16 be appointed in accordance with, and subject to, section 

17 3161(d) of title 5, but shall serve without pay. 

18 ‘‘(f) MILITARY DEPARTMENT LIAISONS.—The Sec19 retary of each military department shall select a represent20 ative of that department to serve as a liaison between the 

21 Interdisciplinary Council and that military department. 

22 Each such representative shall be responsible for ensur23 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(1) that communications made at the Inter2 disciplinary Council are transmitted to military per3 sonnel; and 

4 ‘‘(2) that the Interdisciplinary Council is aware 

5 of problems in the military departments related to 

6 domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, 

7 and stalking. 

8 ‘‘(g) INSTALLATION VISITS.—The Director of the Of9 fice of the Victims’ Advocate shall coordinate with the Sec10 retaries of the military departments to provide for visits 

11 by members of the Interdisciplinary Council to military in12 stallations.’’. 

13 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec14 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘188. Department of Defense Interdisciplinary Council.’’. 

16 (b) DEADLINE FOR INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Mem17 bers of the Interdisciplinary Council under section 188 of 

18 title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

19 shall be appointed not later than 90 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

22 date on which all members of the Interdisciplinary Council 

23 under section 188 of title 10, United States Code, as 

24 added by subsection (a), have been appointed, the Inter25 disciplinary Council shall submit to the Secretary of DeVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H840.IH H840

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1 fense a report recommending specific ways in which the 

2 Office of the Victims’ Advocate and victim advocates may 

3 more effectively address matters relative to sexual assault, 

4 domestic violence, family violence, and stalking committed 

5 by or upon members of the Armed Forces. The report 

6 shall include an assessment of, and recommendations con7 cerning, the following: 

8 (1) Victim safety programs. 

9 (2) Confidentiality of communications for vic10 tims. 

11 (3) Offender accountability. 

12 (4) Prevention of sexual assault, domestic vio13 lence, family violence, and stalking. 

14 (5) Collaboration among military organizations 

15 with responsibility or jurisdiction with respect to 

16 sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence, 

17 and stalking. 

18 (6) Coordination between military and civilian 

19 communities including service organizations and law 

20 enforcement with respect to sexual assault, domestic 

21 violence, family violence and stalking. 

22 (7) Adaptation of best professional practices 

23 within the civilian communities with respect to sex24 ual assault, domestic violence, family violence and 

25 stalking. 


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1 (8) Data collection, case management, and 

2 tracking. 

3 (9) Curricula and training including standard4 ized training for armed forces personnel and commu5 nity-based advocates, organizations, and service pro6 viders. 

7 (10) Standardization of guidelines, directives, 

8 and statutes. 

9 (11) Other issues identified by the Interdiscipli10 nary Council. 

11 (d) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.—The 

12 definitions in section 102 of title 10, United States Code, 

13 as added by section 101(a), apply to subsection (c). 

14 (e) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 534 of the Na15 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 

16 (Public Law 103–337; 10 U.S.C. 113 note) is repealed. 

17 Subtitle C—National and Inter18 national Hotlines Awareness, 

19 Prevention, and Intervention 

20 Campaign 

21 SEC. 121. AWARENESS, PREVENTION, AND INTERVENTION 

22 CAMPAIGN. 

23 (a) CONTRACTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of De24 fense, acting through the Director of the Office of the Vic25 tims’ Advocate, may enter into contracts with appropriate 


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1 entities to support the crisis intervention services of the 

2 Department of Defense for victims of domestic violence, 

3 sexual assault, family violence, and stalking in the Depart4 ment of Defense. 

5 (b) PURPOSE OF CONTRACT.—A contract under sub6 section (a) shall provide for the entity awarded the con7 tract to perform the following functions, to the extent pro8 vided in the contract: 

9 (1) Include in the services provided under the 

10 contract the availability of a toll-free telephone num11 ber (commonly referred to as an ‘‘800’’ number). 

12 (2) Ensure that information about services and 

13 resources available to military personnel, families, 

14 and partners— 

15 (A) is revised and updated as appropriate; 

16 (B) is made available to the Office of the 

17 Victims’ Advocate and other Department of De18 fense entities for distribution and posting at ap19 propriate facilities within the Department of 

20 Defense; and 

21 (C) is made available through appropriate 

22 public information services. 

23 (3) Provide free and confidential support serv24 ices for members of the Armed Forces and their 

25 families and partners for the purpose of developing 


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1 and strengthening prevention and intervention poli2 cies for assistance to members of the Armed Forces 

3 and their family members or partners experiencing 

4 domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, 

5 and stalking. 

6 (4) Develop and implement policies regarding 

7 appropriate, safe responses and referral procedures 

8 for members of the Armed Forces and their family 

9 members or partners experiencing domestic violence, 

10 family violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

11 (5) Provide linguistically and culturally appro12 priate services, or linkages to existing services in the 

13 community, as needed to address the needs of vic14 tims and survivors associated with the Armed 

15 Forces. 

16 (6) Provide the necessary staffing for respond17 ing to the needs of members of the Armed Forces 

18 and their family members or partners who are expe19 riencing domestic violence, family violence, sexual as20 sault, or stalking, such as a resource person or liai21 son who is either on-site or on-call and who pos22 sesses demonstrated experience as a service provider 

23 to victims associated with the Armed Forces. 

24 (c) APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An entity that desires to re2 ceive a contract under this section shall submit to 

3 the Secretary an application at such time, in such 

4 manner, and containing such information as the Sec5 retary may require, consistent with the requirements 

6 in this section. 

7 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be awarded such a 

8 contract, an entity must demonstrate in its applica9 tion under paragraph (1) that it has a history or ex10 perience that is relevant to the purposes of the con11 tract. 

12 (d) CONSIDERATIONS.— 

13 (1) TRAINING.—In providing information on 

14 services, resources, counseling, and advocacy avail15 able to members of the Armed Forces and their fam16 ily members and partners, the Secretary shall ensure 

17 that the personnel who provide assistance under this 

18 section are trained to provide to persons who have 

19 experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, family 

20 violence, and stalking information about the services, 

21 care, and treatment relating to domestic violence, 

22 family violence, sexual assault, and stalking available 

23 in the communities in which the victim resides, in24 cluding care and services available under programs 

25 of the Department of Defense and the Department 


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1 of Veterans Affairs and from non-military and non2 veteran agencies and organizations. 

3 (2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall 

4 ensure that the telephone assistance service shall be 

5 operated in a manner that protects the confiden6 tiality of persons who place a call to the service. 

7 (3) IMMEDIATE ACCESS.—The Secretary shall 

8 ensure that the telephone assistance service provides 

9 immediate access to a trained counselor. The Sec10 retary may not utilize call-back services or answer11 ing services. 

12 (4) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

13 Secretary shall ensure that information about the 

14 availability of the telephone assistance service is visi15 bly posted in medical facilities, commissary and ex16 change facilities, and Family Advocacy Program and 

17 Victims’ Advocate Program facilities of the Depart18 ment and is advertised through public service an19 nouncements and pamphlets, and by other means. 

20 (e) DURATION OF CONTRACT.—The Secretary shall 

21 enter into any contract under this section for a period of 

22 one year. The contract may be renewed. 

23 (f) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall include 

24 in a contract under this section confidentiality provisions 


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1 based on the provisions of section 1816(a) of title 10, 

2 United States Code, as added by section 111. 

3 (g) NONSUPPLANTATION.—Any Federal funds re4 ceived under this section shall be used to supplement, and 

5 not to supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise 

6 be available for activities funded under this section. 

7 (h) NO MATCHING FUNDS.—For the purposes of this 

8 section, a nonprofit, nongovernmental victim services pro9 gram receiving funds under this section may not be re10 quired as a condition of receiving an award of a contract 

11 under this section to provide matching funds. 

12 (i) REPORTS.—An entity receiving funds under this 

13 section shall submit to the Secretary every six months a 

14 report that describes— 

15 (1) how the funds were used, including the ex16 tent to which members of the Armed Forces and 

17 their family members and partners were provided 

18 services and a description of the services provided, 

19 including the number of cases responded to; 

20 (2) the adequacy of staff training and services 

21 to meet the needs of members of the Armed Forces 

22 and their family members and partners for services 

23 under the contract; and 


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1 (3) the existence of barriers faced by the entity 

2 to address the needs of members of the Armed 

3 Forces and their family members and partners. 

4 (j) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.—The 

5 definitions in section 102 of title 10, United States Code, 

6 as added by section 101(a), apply to this section. 

7 Subtitle D—Prevention and 

8 Intervention Training 

9 SEC. 131. PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION TRAINING 

10 CONTRACTS. 

11 (a) AWARDS AUTHORIZED.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 

13 acting through the Director of the Office of the Vic14 tims’ Advocate, shall enter into contracts under this 

15 section with eligible entities for the purposes of pro16 viding training and technical assistance to the De17 partment of Defense relative to prevention of domes18 tic violence, sexual assault, family violence, and 

19 stalking. 

20 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term 

21 ‘‘eligible entity’’ means an entity that is— 

22 (A) a public or nonprofit private organiza23 tion having demonstrated expertise in preven24 tion, intervention, developing community col25 laboration, and system response to domestic viVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H840.IH H840

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1 olence, sexual assault, family violence, and 

2 stalking; or 

3 (B) a community-based organization expe4 rienced in providing services to members of the 

5 Armed Forces and their family members or 

6 partners who experience domestic violence, sex7 ual assault, family violence, or stalking. 

8 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—An entity awarded a contract 

9 pursuant to subsection (a) shall— 

10 (1) provide training in the dynamics of domes11 tic violence, sexual assault, family violence, and 

12 stalking, including safety, risk assessment, potential 

13 lethality, and appropriate interventions; 

14 (2) provide education programs for members of 

15 the Armed Forces and their family members or part16 ners that are linguistically and culturally appropriate 

17 and are designed to meet any unique needs of the 

18 population by adapting and implementing existing 

19 curricula; 

20 (3) provide media center materials and edu21 cational materials to the population that address the 

22 needs and concerns of members of the Armed Forces 

23 and their family members or partners who experi24 ence domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking 

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1 ing, and disseminating appropriate existing mate2 rials; and 

3 (4) conduct evaluations to assess the impact of 

4 programs and policies assisted under this section in 

5 order to enhance the development of those programs. 

6 (c) APPLICATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that de8 sires to receive a contract under this section shall 

9 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

10 in such manner, and containing such information as 

11 the Secretary may require, consistent with the re12 quirements described in this section. 

13 (2) CONTENT.—An application submitted pur14 suant to paragraph (1) shall— 

15 (A) outline and describe how training and 

16 other activities will be undertaken to promote 

17 prevention, intervention, and collaboration; 

18 (B) identify the members of the organiza19 tion who will be responsible for carrying out the 

20 training; 

21 (C) ensure that communities or agencies 

22 affected by the training are adequately rep23 resented in the development of the application, 

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1 taken and that they have a significant role in 

2 evaluating the success of the project; 

3 (D) include documentation of any history 

4 of training between military entities, domestic 

5 violence, sexual assault, or stalking service pro6 viders, courts, law enforcement agencies, com7 munity-based programs, and other entities; 

8 (E) provide assurances that training and 

9 other activities will be provided to all types of 

10 staff, will address appropriate practices for in11 vestigation, follow-up, screening, intake, assess12 ment, and provision of services addressing the 

13 safety needs of victims of domestic violence, 

14 sexual assault, family violence, or stalking; 

15 (F) describe how the training and activities 

16 will enhance or ensure the safety and security 

17 of members of the Armed Forces and their fam18 ily members or partners where both domestic 

19 violence and sexual assault occurs by providing 

20 appropriate resources, protection, and support 

21 to victims; 

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1 turally competent manner and will use commu2 nity-based supports and resources; and 

3 (H) outline the protocols, policies, and pro4 cedures participating entities will develop and 

5 adopt to ensure the confidentiality of victims. 

6 (d) DURATION OF CONTRACTS.—The Secretary shall 

7 enter into a contract under this section for a period of 

8 one year. Such a contract may be renewed. 

9 (e) REPORTS.—An entity receiving funds under this 

10 section shall submit to the Secretary every six months a 

11 report that describes, at a minimum— 

12 (1) how the funds under the program were 

13 used, including the extent to which military per14 sonnel, family members, or partners were served; 

15 (2) the adequacy of staff training and services 

16 to ensure that the needs of members of the Armed 

17 Forces and their family members or partners are 

18 met; and 

19 (3) the existence of barriers the entity faces to 

20 more fully addressing the needs of members of the 

21 Armed Forces and their family members or part22 ners. 

23 (f) REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 (1) SET-ASIDE.—Of the amounts appropriated 

2 to carry out this section for any fiscal year, the Sec3 retary— 

4 (A) shall use not less than 20 percent for 

5 programs addressing domestic violence and sex6 ual assault that are operated by, or in partner7 ship with, civilian victim services; and 

8 (B) shall use not less than 5 percent for 

9 technical assistance and training to be provided 

10 by organizations having demonstrated expertise 

11 in developing collaborative community and sys12 tem responses to domestic violence, sexual as13 sault, and stalking. 

14 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.— 

15 Technical assistance and training under paragraph 

16 (1)(B) may be offered to the elements of the Armed 

17 Forces, installations, or commands in the process of 

18 developing community responses, whether they are 

19 receiving funds under this section or not. 

20 (g) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.—The 

21 definitions in section 102 of title 10, United States Code, 

22 as added by section 101(a), apply to this section. 


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1 Subtitle E—Biennial Conference on 

2 Sexual Assault and Domestic Vi3 olence 

4 SEC. 141. SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CON5 FERENCE. 

6 (a) CONFERENCE REQUIRED.—Not later than one 

7 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 

8 two years thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, acting 

9 through the Director of the Office of the Victims’ Advo10 cate of the Department of Defense, shall convene a na11 tional conference to review current policies for prevention 

12 of, and response to, domestic violence, sexual assault, fam13 ily violence, and stalking (as those terms are defined in 

14 section 102 of title 10, United States Code) involving 

15 members of the Armed Forces and to make recommenda16 tions for changes, as warranted, to those policies. 

17 (b) CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES.—The conferences 

18 shall provide a forum for the civilian leadership of the De19 partment of Defense, military commanders, family advo20 cacy personnel, military criminal investigators, military 

21 law enforcement personnel, and security forces to consider 

22 problems, policies, and recommendations relating to do23 mestic violence, sexual assault, family violence, and stalk24 ing involving members of the Armed Forces. 

25 (c) FIRST CONFERENCE.— 


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1 (1) CONSIDERATION OF PRIOR REPORTS.—Ac2 tivities of the first conference under this subtitle 

3 shall include consideration of the reports and rec4 ommendations of the following: 

5 (A) The Department of Defense Task 

6 Force on the Care of Sexual Assault Victims. 

7 (B) The Department of Defense Task 

8 Force on Domestic Violence. 

9 (C) The Department of Defense Task 

10 Force of Sexual Harassment and Misconduct at 

11 the Military Academies. 

12 (2) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Activities of the first 

13 conference under this subtitle shall include a discus14 sion of, and compiling of recommendations and 

15 strategy for, a strategic plan that seeks to— 

16 (A) involve more civilian leaders of the De17 partment of Defense, military commanders, and 

18 members of the Armed Forces in prevention 

19 and other activities designed to end domestic vi20 olence, sexual assault, family violence, and 

21 stalking in the Armed Forces; and 

22 (B) facilitate the Secretaries of the mili23 tary departments implementation of policies on 

24 domestic violence, sexual assault, family vio25 lence, and stalking in the Armed Forces. 


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1 (d) CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS.—The Secretary 

2 shall provide for participants in conferences under this 

3 section to include the following: 

4 (1) Representatives from a broad cross-section 

5 of military authorities, including leadership, com6 mands, services, departments, and programs. 

7 (2) Representatives of Federal, State, national 

8 and local government agencies. 

9 (3) Representatives of law enforcement organi10 zations. 

11 (4) Criminal justice professionals, including 

12 prosecutors, investigators, attorneys, and advocates. 

13 (5) Representatives of nonprofit, private, or 

14 nongovernmental service providers and of public and 

15 private organizations working in the field of domes16 tic violence, sexual assault, family violence, and 

17 stalking. 

18 (6) Individuals with demonstrated expertise in 

19 addressing the intersection between domestic vio20 lence, sexual assault, family violence, and stalking. 

21 (7) Individuals with demonstrated expertise in 

22 addressing the issues confronting the Armed Forces 

23 relative to domestic violence, sexual assault, family 

24 violence, and stalking. 


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1 (8) Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, 

2 family violence, and stalking. 

3 (9) Representatives of academic and research, 

4 facilities with demonstrated expertise in domestic vi5 olence, sexual assault, family violence, and stalking. 

6 (10) Representatives of the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs. 

8 (11) Advocates, counselors, and therapists en9 gaged in providing services to victims associated 

10 with the Armed Forces. 

11 Subtitle F—Memorandums of Un12 derstanding With Civil Organi13 zations 

14 SEC. 151. AGREEMENTS WITH CIVILIAN ORGANIZATIONS. 

15 (a) MEMORANDUMS OF UNDERSTANDING.—Congress 

16 expects and encourages the Secretary of Defense to enter 

17 into memorandums of understanding with civilian organi18 zations to provide services to victims of sexual assault, do19 mestic violence, family violence, and stalking (as those 

20 terms are defined in section 102 of title 10, United States 

21 Code). 

22 (b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—When entering into a 

23 memorandum of understanding with a civilian organiza24 tion as described in subsection (a), the Secretary of De25 fense should not enter into, and may not enforce, any proVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H840.IH H840

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1 vision in the memorandum that would be in direct viola2 tion of any law protecting confidential information and 

3 personal identifying information. 

4 TITLE II—RIGHTS, RESTITUTION, 

5 TREATMENT, AND SERVICES 

6 FOR VICTIMS 

7 Subtitle A—Protection of Persons 

8 Reporting Sexual Assault or Do9 mestic Violence 

10 SEC. 201. PROTECTION OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN 

11 VICTIMS AND ADVOCATES. 

12 (a) RESTRICTING COMMUNICATION PROHIBITED.— 

13 Subsection (a) of section 1034 of title 10, United States 

14 Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Congress or’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Congress,’’; and 

17 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 

18 following: ‘‘or the Office of the Victims’ Advocate or 

19 a Victims’ Advocate within the Department of De20 fense’’. 

21 (b) PROHIBITION OF RETALIATORY PERSONNEL AC22 TIONS.—Subsection (b)(1) of such section is amended— 

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1 eral, or the Office of the Victims’ Advocate or a Vic2 tims’ Advocate’’; and 

3 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

4 (A) by redesignating clauses (iii), (iv), and 

5 (v) as clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively; 

6 and 

7 (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol8 lowing new clause: 

9 ‘‘(iii) the Office of the Victims’ Advocate 

10 or a victims’ advocate;’’. 

11 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL INVESTIGATIONS.—Sub12 section (c)(2)(A) of such section is amended by inserting 

13 ‘‘, sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence, stalk14 ing,’’ after ‘‘sexual harassment’’. 

15 SEC. 202. VICTIM SERVICE ORGANIZATION PRIVILEGE AND 

16 HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE IN 

17 CASES ARISING UNDER UNIFORM CODE OF 

18 MILITARY JUSTICE. 

19 (a) PRIVILEGES ESTABLISHED.— 

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

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

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

23 end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 940a. Art. 140a. Privilege for communication with 

2 victim service organization or health 

3 care professional 

4 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE OF PRIVILEGE.—A client has 

5 a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other 

6 person from disclosing, a confidential communication 

7 made between the client and a victim service organization 

8 or any representative of the organization, or between the 

9 client and a health care professional or any representative 

10 of the professional, in a case arising under this chapter, 

11 if such communication was made for the purpose of secur12 ing advice, counseling, treatment, or assistance concerning 

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

14 by domestic violence, family violence, dating violence, 

15 stalking, or sexual assault. 

16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

18 consults with or is examined or interviewed by a vic19 tim service organization or any representative of the 

20 organization, or by a health care professional or any 

21 representative of the professional. 

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

23 means an organization (whether public or private) 

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1 lence, stalking, or sexual assault, or to the families 

2 of such victims. 

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

4 an organization or professional, means a person di5 rected by or assigned to assist that organization or 

6 professional, respectively, in providing advice, coun7 seling, treatment, or assistance. 

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

9 means a communication not intended to be disclosed 

10 to third persons other than— 

11 ‘‘(A) those to whom disclosure is in fur12 therance of providing advice, counseling, treat13 ment, or assistance to the client; and 

14 ‘‘(B) those reasonably necessary for dis15 closing under subparagraph (A). 

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

17 or representative of a client may not be compelled to pro18 vide testimony in a civil, criminal, legislative, disciplinary, 

19 or administrative proceeding that would identify— 

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

21 number of a safe house, abuse shelter, or other facil22 ity that provided temporary emergency shelter to the 

23 victim of the offense or transaction that is the sub24 ject of the proceeding; or 


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

2 a victim representative. 

3 ‘‘(d) WHO MAY CLAIM THE PRIVILEGE.—The privi4 lege under subsection (a) or (c) may be claimed by the 

5 client or the guardian or conservator of the client. A per6 son who may claim the privilege may authorize trial coun7 sel or defense counsel to claim the privilege on his or her 

8 behalf. The victim service organization, health care profes9 sional, or representative who received the communication 

10 may claim the privilege on behalf of the client. The author11 ity of such an organization, professional, representative, 

12 guardian, or conservator to so assert the privilege is pre13 sumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary. 

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

15 section— 

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

17 privilege under subsection (c); 

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

19 child abuse; 

20 ‘‘(3) when a victim service organization, health 

21 care professional, or representative believes that a 

22 mental or emotional condition of the client makes 

23 the client a danger to any person, including the cli24 ent; or 


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1 ‘‘(4) if the communication clearly contemplated 

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

3 services of the victim service organization or health 

4 care professional are sought or obtained to enable or 

5 aid anyone to commit or plan to commit what the 

6 client knew or reasonably should have known to be 

7 a crime or fraud.’’. 

8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec9 tions at the beginning of such subchapter is amend10 ed by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘940a. 140a. Privilege for communication with victim service organization or 

health care professional.’’. 

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

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

13 Justice), as added by subsection (a), applies to commu14 nications made after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 Subtitle B—Medical Care and 

16 Treatment for Victims of Sexual 

17 and Domestic Violence 

18 SEC. 211. ENHANCED DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TREAT19 MENT CAPACITY. 

20 To the extent funds are available for such purpose, 

21 funds available to the Department of Defense shall be 

22 used to employ at least one medical professional trained 

23 as a sexual assault nurse examiner and at least one psy24 chiatrist, and a complimentary clinical team, at each miliVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H840.IH H840

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1 tary treatment facility operated by the Department of De2 fense. 

3 SEC. 212. COMMUNITY LEVEL PROGRAM. 

4 (a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Defense, acting 

5 through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Af6 fairs, shall carry out a program at the community level 

7 for members of the Armed Forces on active duty and fam8 ily members of such members who are victims of domestic 

9 violence, sexual assault, family violence, or stalking (as 

10 those terms are defined in section 102 of title 10, United 

11 States Code). 

12 (b) PROGRAM SITES.—The program shall be carried 

13 out through facilities of the Department of Defense. 

14 (c) PROGRAM CONTENT.—In conducting the pro15 gram, the Secretary shall provide for individualized case 

16 management to be conducted on a one-to-one basis, coun17 seling, education, and group therapy to help victims cope 

18 with trauma. Through the program, the Secretary 

19 should— 

20 (1) emphasize early identification of victims ex21 periencing post-traumatic stress disorder resulting 

22 from domestic violence, sexual assault, family vio23 lence, or stalking; 

24 (2) include group-oriented, peer-to-peer settings 

25 for treatment; and 


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1 (3) acknowledge that the causal factors of do2 mestic violence, sexual assault, family violence, and 

3 stalking include power and control. 

4 (d) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall provide that 

5 health information packets given to members of the Armed 

6 Forces and their family members include information 

7 about how to obtain timely and confidential post-sexual 

8 assault medical care. 

9 (e) PROGRAM MODELS.—The Secretary shall estab10 lish and carry out the program under this section following 

11 a comprehensive review of other relevant programs, includ12 ing programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs, of 

13 State and local governments, and of private, nonprofit, or 

14 nongovernmental organizations specializing in the treat15 ment of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, family 

16 violence, or stalking. 

17 SEC. 213. TRANSITION TO VETERANS HEALTH CARE FOR 

18 VICTIMS OR PERPETRATORS OF DOMESTIC 

19 VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, FAMILY VIO20 LENCE, OR STALKING. 

21 The Secretary of each military department shall take 

22 special care in providing for a seamless transition from 

23 Department of Defense health care services to Depart24 ment of Veterans Affairs health care services in the case 

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1 charged or separated from active duty and who has been 

2 identified as a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence, 

3 sexual assault, family violence, or stalking (as those terms 

4 are defined in section 102 of title 10, United States Code). 

5 Subtitle C—Military-Civilian 

6 Shelter Programs 

7 SEC. 221. ENHANCED CAPACITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

8 DEFENSE FOR SHELTER PROGRAMS AND 

9 SERVICES. 

10 (a) CONTRACTS AUTHORIZED.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 

12 acting through the Director of the Office of the Vic13 tims’ Advocate, may enter into contracts with eligi14 ble entities to provide shelter services for members 

15 of the Armed Forces and their family members and 

16 partners who experience domestic violence, family vi17 olence, sexual assault, or stalking. 

18 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the 

19 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a public or private non20 profit entity the primary purpose of which is to pro21 vide shelter services to victims of domestic violence, 

22 family violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The enti23 ty may be— 

24 (A) a community-based organization spe25 cializing in intervention or violence prevention 


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1 services for members of the Armed Forces and 

2 their family members or partners; 

3 (B) a nonprofit nongovernmental entity 

4 providing services primarily to members of the 

5 Armed Forces and their family members or 

6 partners who are victims of domestic violence, 

7 family violence, sexual assault, or stalking; 

8 (C) a nonprofit, nongovernmental entity 

9 providing services for veterans; 

10 (D) a nonprofit, nongovernmental entity 

11 providing services to homeless individuals; or 

12 (E) a governmental program serving mem13 bers of the Armed Forces and their families. 

14 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—A contract under this section 

15 shall provide that— 

16 (1) whenever possible, the entity awarded the 

17 contract shall collaborate with existing shelter serv18 ices in the civilian community to provide appropriate 

19 victim services; 

20 (2) when appropriate shelter services are not 

21 available in the civilian community or are not acces22 sible to members of the Armed Forces or their fam23 ily members or partners, the entity awarded the con24 tract may provide or create shelter services in col25 laboration with a community-based organization; 


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1 (3) the entity awarded the contract shall pro2 vide referral services to a Department of Defense 

3 victims advocate aid, including legal, medical, or 

4 psychological counseling, to members of the Armed 

5 Forces and their family members and partners who 

6 are experiencing domestic violence, family violence, 

7 sexual assault, or stalking; and 

8 (4) if needed, the entity awarded the contract 

9 will have staff with fluency in languages other then 

10 English or access to translators. 

11 (c) APPLICATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that de13 sires to receive a contract under this section shall 

14 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

15 in such manner, and containing such information as 

16 the Secretary may require, consistent with the re17 quirements of this section. 

18 (2) CONSIDERATION OF BEST PRACTICES.—In 

19 considering applications submitted pursuant to para20 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with existing 

21 providers of shelter services to determine best prac22 tices. 

23 (d) DURATION OF AWARDS.—A contract awarded 

24 under this section shall be awarded for a period of three 

25 fiscal years. Such a contract may be renewed. 


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1 (e) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall include 

2 in a contract under this section confidentiality provisions 

3 based on the provisions of section 1816(a) of title 10, 

4 United States Code, as added by section 111. 

5 (f) REPORTS.—An entity awarded a contract under 

6 this section shall submit to the Secretary every six months 

7 a report that describes, at a minimum— 

8 (1) how the funds under the contract were 

9 used; 

10 (2) the extent to which military personnel, fam11 ilies, and partners were served; and 

12 (3) the adequacy of staff training and services 

13 to ensure that needs of members of the Armed 

14 Forces and their family members and partners. 

15 (g) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.—The 

16 definitions in section 102 of title 10, United States Code, 

17 as added by section 101(a), apply to this section. 

18 Subtitle D—Victim’s Rights and 

19 Restitution 

20 SEC. 231. MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT AND VICTIMS’ 

21 RIGHTS. 

22 (a) VICTIMS’ RIGHTS.—After an allegation of a do23 mestic violence, sexual assault, family violence, or stalking 

24 offense that is reported to, or investigated by military law 


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1 enforcement agency, the victim (or alleged victim) shall 

2 have the following rights: 

3 (1) Victims’ rights set out under section 502(b) 

4 of the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 

5 (42 U.S.C. 10606(b)). 

6 (2) The right to be informed of the availability 

7 of crisis intervention services and resources and 

8 medical services and, when applicable, that medical 

9 services arising out of the need to secure evidence 

10 may be reimbursed. 

11 (3) The right to be informed of legal procedures 

12 and resources available for the protection of the vic13 tim, including military no contact orders and protec14 tion orders, civilian orders of protection referred to 

15 in section 1561a of title 10, United States Code, and 

16 the full faith and credit given to protection orders 

17 pursuant to section 2265 of title 18, United States 

18 Code. 

19 (4) The right to be informed of names and tele20 phone numbers of public and private assistance pro21 grams, including victim compensation programs, 

22 transitional compensation programs, and programs 

23 that provide counseling, treatment, shelter, and sup24 port services. 


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1 (5) The right to be informed of the military law 

2 enforcement agency report number for the case, if 

3 available, other identifying information, and the fol4 lowing statement: ‘‘If within 30 days you are not no5 tified of an arrest in your case, you may call (the 

6 military law enforcement agency’s telephone num7 ber) for information on the status of your case.’’. 

8 (6) The right to be notified by military law en9 forcement authorities of the arrest of the suspect, if 

10 the suspect is arrested, regardless of whether the 

11 suspect is an adult or a juvenile. 

12 (7) The right to be to informed, in a case in 

13 which the suspect is an adult and has been arrested, 

14 of the suspect’s release, of the scheduled time, place, 

15 and date for initial court appearances of the suspect, 

16 and of the victim’s right to be heard. 

17 (b) NOTICE OF RIGHTS TO BE PROVIDED.—As soon 

18 after an allegation of a domestic violence, sexual assault, 

19 family violence, or stalking offense as possible without 

20 interfering with an investigation or arrest, a representa21 tive of the military law enforcement agency that has re22 sponsibility for investigating the offense shall provide the 

23 victim with a multicopy form that includes the following: 


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1 (1) A form for the victim to request or waive 

2 applicable rights to information to which the victim 

3 is entitled, on request, under this section. 

4 (2) A means for the victim to designate a lawful 

5 representative selected by the victim. 

6 (3) Notice to the victim of the following: 

7 (A) Victims’ rights under section 502(b) of 

8 the Victims’ Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 

9 (42 U.S.C. 10606(b)). 

10 (B) The availability of crisis intervention 

11 services and resources and medical services and, 

12 when applicable, that medical services arising 

13 out of the need to secure evidence may be reim14 bursed. 

15 (C) The legal procedures and resources 

16 available for the protection of the victim, in17 cluding military no contact orders and protec18 tion orders, civilian orders of protection referred 

19 to in section 1561a of title 10, United States 

20 Code, and the full faith and credit given to pro21 tection orders pursuant to section 2265 of title 

22 18, United States Code. 

23 (D) The names and telephone numbers of 

24 public and private assistance programs, includ25 ing victim compensation programs, transitional 


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1 compensation programs, and programs that 

2 provide counseling, treatment, shelter, and sup3 port services. 

4 (E) The military law enforcement agency 

5 report number for the case, if available, other 

6 identifying information, and the following state7 ment: ‘‘If within 30 days you are not notified 

8 of an arrest in your case, you may call (the 

9 military law enforcement agency’s telephone 

10 number) for information on the status of your 

11 case.’’. 

12 (F) Regardless of whether the suspect is 

13 an adult or a juvenile, a statement that the vic14 tim will be notified by military law enforcement 

15 authorities of the arrest of the suspect, if the 

16 suspect is arrested. 

17 (G) If the suspect is an adult and has been 

18 arrested, a statement that the victim will be in19 formed of the suspect’s release, of the scheduled 

20 time, place, and date for initial court appear21 ances of the suspect and of the victim’s right to 

22 be heard, and that to exercise those rights, the 

23 victim may contact the custodial agency regard24 ing the suspect’s status or contact the com25 mand regarding any changes. 


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1 (c) EFFECT OF EMOTIONAL STATUS OF VICTIM.— 

2 If at the time of contact with a military law enforcement 

3 agency representative under subsection (a), a victim is 

4 emotionally unable to request or to waive applicable rights, 

5 the military law enforcement agency representative shall 

6 so designate that on the multicopy form and any entity 

7 that is subsequently involved in the case shall presume 

8 that the victim invoked the applicable rights to which the 

9 victim is entitled and, on request, the victim may later 

10 waive those rights. 

11 (d) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.—The 

12 definitions in section 102 of title 10, United States Code, 

13 as added by section 101(a), apply to this section. 

14 SEC. 232. AVAILABILITY OF INCIDENT REPORTS. 

15 (a) APPLICABILITY.—A military law enforcement 

16 agency shall provide, without charge, to a victim of domes17 tic violence, sexual assault, family violence, or stalking (or 

18 to the representative of such a victim, if the victim is de19 ceased) a copy of the incident report in the case, a copy 

20 of the incident report summary (referred to as a ‘‘face 

21 sheet’’), or both, in accordance with subsection (b). 

22 (b) TIME FOR AVAILABILITY.— 

23 (1) SUMMARIES.—A copy of an incident report 

24 summary shall be made available during regular 

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1 tive no later than 48 hours after being requested by 

2 the victim or the victim’s representative, unless the 

3 military law enforcement agency informs the victim 

4 or representative of the reasons why the summary is 

5 not available, in which case the summary shall be 

6 made available to the victim or representative no 

7 later than five working days after the request is 

8 made. 

9 (2) INCIDENT REPORTS.—A copy of the inci10 dent report shall be made available during regular 

11 business hours to a victim or the victim’s representa12 tive no later than five working days after being re13 quested by a victim or representative, unless the 

14 military law enforcement agency informs the victim 

15 or representative of the reasons why the incident re16 port is not available, in which case the incident re17 port shall be made available to the victim or rep18 resentative no later than 10 working days after the 

19 request is made. 

20 (c) IDENTIFICATION.—An incident report and a sum21 mary of an incident report may be provided to any person 

22 under this section only upon presentation of identification 

23 satisfactory to the Secretary concerned. 

24 (d) TIME DURATION.—This section applies to re25 quests for copies of incident reports and summaries of inVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:35 Feb 06, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H840.IH H840

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1 cident reports made within five years from the date of 

2 completion of the incident report. 

3 (e) VICTIM’S REPRESENTATIVE DEFINED.— 

4 (1) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘vic5 tim’s representative’’ means, with respect to a victim 

6 who is deceased, the person who is listed first among 

7 the following: 

8 (A) The surviving spouse. 

9 (B) A surviving child of the decedent who 

10 has attained 18 years of age. 

11 (C) A surviving parent of the decedent. 

12 (D) A surviving adult relative. 

13 (E) The public administrator appointed by 

14 a probate court, if one has been appointed. 

15 (2) A victim’s representative does not include 

16 any person who has been convicted of murder under 

17 State or Federal law or any person identified in the 

18 incident report as a suspect. 

19 (f) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.—The 

20 definitions in section 102 of title 10, United States Code, 

21 as added by section 101(a), apply to this section. 

22 SEC. 233. VICTIM ADVOCATES AND VICTIMS’ RIGHTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any victim making an allegation 

24 of sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence, or 

25 stalking (as those terms are defined in section 102 of title 


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1 10, United States Code) may have a victim advocate 

2 present at any interview of the victim conducted by any 

3 military law enforcement official. 

4 (b) SUPPORT DURING PROCEEDINGS.—In a military 

5 justice proceeding, a victim advocate, upon the request of 

6 the victim, shall be allowed to accompany the victim dur7 ing the proceedings. The victim advocate shall be allowed 

8 to confer orally and in writing with the victim in a reason9 able manner. 

10 SEC. 234. RESTITUTION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 80 of title 10, is amended 

12 by inserting after section 1561b, as added by section 301, 

13 the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 1561c. Restitution 

15 ‘‘(a) RESTITUTION REQUIRED.—In addition to any 

16 other civil, disciplinary, or criminal penalty authorized by 

17 law, the convening authority in a court-martial shall order 

18 restitution for any offense specified in section 920, 

19 892(a)(4), or 1561a of this title. 

20 ‘‘(b) SCOPE AND NATURE OF ORDER.— 

21 ‘‘(1) DIRECTIONS.—An order of restitution 

22 under this section shall direct the person convicted 

23 to pay the victim the full amount of the victim’s 

24 losses, as determined by the convening authority 

25 pursuant to paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—An order of restitution 

2 under this section shall be issued and enforced in ac3 cordance with section 3664 of title 18 in the same 

4 manner as an order under section 3663A of that 

5 title. 

6 ‘‘(c) MANDATORY ORDER.— 

7 ‘‘(1) The issuance of a restitution order under 

8 this section is mandatory. 

9 ‘‘(2) The convening authority may not decline 

10 to issue an order under this section because of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the economic circumstances of the 

12 person convicted; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the fact that a victim has received, or 

14 is entitled to receive, compensation for the vic15 tim’s injuries from the proceeds of insurance, 

16 transitional compensation, veterans benefits, or 

17 any other source. 

18 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) FULL AMOUNT OF THE VICTIM’S

20 LOSSES.—The term ‘full amount of the victim’s 

21 losses’ includes any costs incurred by the victim 

22 for— 

23 ‘‘(A) medical services relating to physical, 

24 psychiatric, or psychological care; 


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1 ‘‘(B) physical and occupational therapy or 

2 rehabilitation; 

3 ‘‘(C) necessary transportation, temporary 

4 housing, and child care expenses; 

5 ‘‘(D) lost income; 

6 ‘‘(E) attorney’s fees, plus any costs in7 curred in obtaining a civil protective order; and 

8 ‘‘(F) any other loss suffered by the victim 

9 as a proximate result of the offense or offenses. 

10 ‘‘(2) VICTIM.—The term ‘victim’ means a per11 son harmed as a result of a commission of a crime 

12 under this title, including, in the case of a victim 

13 who is under 18 years of age, incompetent, incapaci14 tated, or deceased, the legal guardian of the victim 

15 or representative of the victim’s estate, another fam16 ily member, or any other person appointed as suit17 able by a court, but in no event shall the accused be 

18 named as such a representative or guardian.’’. 

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

20 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

21 after the item relating to section 1561b, as added by sec22 tion 301, the following new item: 

‘‘1561c. Restitution.’’. 

23 SEC. 235. RECORDS OF MILITARY JUSTICE ACTIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter XI of chapter 47 of 

25 title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military 


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1 Justice), is amended by inserting after section 940a, as 

2 added by section 202, the following new section (article): 

3 ‘‘§ 940b. Art. 140b. Military justice information: trans4 mission to Director of Federal Bureau of 

5 Investigation 

6 ‘‘Whenever a member of the Armed Forces is dis7 charged or dismissed from the Armed Forces or is released 

8 from active duty, the Secretary concerned shall transmit 

9 to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation a 

10 copy of records of any disciplinary action against the 

11 member involving sexual misconduct during the period of 

12 the member’s service in the Armed Forces that is taken 

13 under this chapter, including any nonjudicial punishment 

14 imposed under section 815 of this title (article 15).’’. 

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

16 at the beginning of such subchapter is amended by insert17 ing after the item relating to section 940a the following 

18 new item: 

‘‘940b. 140b. Military justice information: transmission to Director of Federal 

Bureau of Investigation.’’. 

19 SEC. 236. TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION OF HOUSEHOLD 

20 EFFECTS OR MOTOR VEHICLE IN RESPONSE 

21 TO DEPENDENT ABUSE. 

22 Section 406(h)(4)(D) of title 37, United States Code, 

23 is amended by striking ‘‘only if a written agreement of 

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1 tion,’’ and inserting ‘‘if an order of a court of competent 

2 jurisdiction’’. 

3 SEC. 237. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS RELATING TO FATAL4 ITY REVIEW PANELS. 

5 (a) ARMY.—Section 4061 of title 10, United States 

6 Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, acting 

8 through the Office of the Victims’ Advocate,’’ after 

9 ‘‘Secretary of the Army’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘, in con11 sultation with the Office of the Victims’ Advocate,’’ 

12 after ‘‘Secretary of Defense’’. 

13 (b) NAVY.—Section 6036 of such title is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, through 

15 the Office of the Victims’ Advocate,’’ after ‘‘Sec16 retary of the Navy’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘, in con18 sultation with the Office of the Victims’ Advocate,’’ 

19 after ‘‘Secretary of Defense’’. 

20 (c) AIR FORCE.—Section 9061 of such title is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, through 

23 the Office of the Victims’ Advocate,’’ after ‘‘Sec24 retary of the Air Force’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘, in con2 sultation with the Office of the Victims’ Advocate,’’ 

3 after ‘‘Secretary of Defense’’. 

4 TITLE III—REPORTING, PROS5 ECUTION, AND TREATMENT 

6 OF PERPETRATORS 

7 Subtitle A—Reporting of Sexual As8 sault, Domestic Violence, and 

9 Stalking Within the Department 

10 of Defense 

11 SEC. 301. COMPLAINTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DOMES12 TIC VIOLENCE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 80 of title 10, United 

14 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1561a 

15 the following new section: 

16 ‘‘§ 1561b. Complaints of sexual assault, domestic vio17 lence, family violence, or stalking: inves18 tigation by commanding officers 

19 ‘‘(a) ACTION ON COMPLAINTS.—(1) A commanding 

20 officer or officer in charge of a unit, vessel, facility, or 

21 area of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps who 

22 receives a qualifying complaint shall carry out an inves23 tigation of the matter in accordance with this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) In this section, the term ‘qualifying complaint’ 

25 means a complaint— 


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1 ‘‘(A) that is from a victim, or from a member 

2 of the command, or a civilian employee under the 

3 supervision of the officer, or a victim advocate of the 

4 Department of Defense; and 

5 ‘‘(B) that alleges sexual assault, domestic vio6 lence, family violence, or stalking by a member of 

7 the Armed Forces or a civilian employee of the De8 partment of Defense 

9 ‘‘(b) COMMENCEMENT OF INVESTIGATION.—To the 

10 extent practicable, a commanding officer or officer in 

11 charge receiving a qualifying complaint shall, within 72 

12 hours after receipt of the complaint— 

13 ‘‘(1) forward the complaint, or a detailed de14 scription of the allegation in the complaint, to the 

15 next superior officer in that officer’s chain of com16 mand who is authorized to convene a general court17 martial; 

18 ‘‘(2) commence, or cause the commencement of, 

19 an investigation of the complaint, including engaging 

20 law enforcement, criminal investigators, judge advo21 cates, victim advocates, and victim witness liaisons; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(3) advise the complainant of the commence24 ment of the investigation. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF INVESTIGATION.—A commanding 

2 officer or officer in charge receiving a qualifying complaint 

3 shall ensure that the investigation of the complaint is com4 pleted within 90 days of the date on which the investiga5 tion is commenced or such longer period as may be ap6 proved by the Director of the Office of Victim Advocate. 

7 ‘‘(d) JUDGE ADVOCATE REPORT.—To the extent 

8 practicable, a commanding officer or officer in charge re9 ceiving a qualifying complaint shall require a report of the 

10 judge advocate, including the results of the investigation, 

11 application of the disciplinary or punitive articles under 

12 the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and any rec13 ommendations for actions to be taken as a result of the 

14 investigation, within 20 days after the date on which the 

15 investigation is commenced. 

16 ‘‘(e) REPORT ON INVESTIGATION.—To the extent 

17 practicable, a commanding officer or officer in charge re18 ceiving a qualifying complaint shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) submit a final report on the results of the 

20 investigation, including any action taken as a result 

21 of the investigation, to the next superior officer re22 ferred to in subsection (b)(1) within 30 days after 

23 the date on which the investigation is commenced; or 

24 ‘‘(2) submit a report on the progress made in 

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1 ficer referred to in subsection (b)(1) within 30 days 

2 after the date on which the investigation is com3 menced and every 14 days thereafter until the inves4 tigation is completed and, upon completion of the in5 vestigation, then submit a final report on the results 

6 of the investigation, including any action taken as a 

7 result of the investigation, to that next superior offi8 cer. 

9 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORTS TO SERVICE SECRETARIES.— 

10 Not later than January 1 of each year, each officer receiv11 ing a qualifying complaint forwarded in accordance with 

12 this section shall submit to the Secretary of the military 

13 department concerned a report on all such complaints re14 ceived during the preceding year and the investigations of 

15 those complaints (including the results of the investiga16 tions, in cases of investigations completed during the pre17 ceding year). 

18 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL REPORT TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

19 AND CONGRESS.—(1) Not later than January 15 of each 

20 year, each Secretary of a military department receiving a 

21 report under subsection (g) shall submit to the Secretary 

22 of Defense a report on the complaints and investigations 

23 of sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence, and 

24 stalking. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 

2 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Com3 mittee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives 

4 each report submitted to the Secretary under this para5 graph (1), together with the comments of the Secretary 

6 on each such report. The Secretary shall transmit the re7 port for any year not later than March 15 of the next 

8 year.’’. 

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 1561a the following new 

12 item: 

‘‘1561b. Complaints of sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence, or 

stalking: investigation by commanding officers.’’. 

13 SEC. 302. RESPONSE OF MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT OF14 FICIALS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INCIDENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 80 of title 10, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing new sections: 

18 ‘‘§ 1567. Domestic violence: responsibilities of mili19 tary law enforcement officers 

20 ‘‘(a) CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING ARREST.—A mili21 tary law enforcement officer shall arrest and take into cus22 tody a person subject to arrest or apprehension by the offi23 cer if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the officer has reasonable grounds to be2 lieve that the person has committed domestic vio3 lence and that the person’s actions are the commis4 sion of a crime; and 

5 ‘‘(2) any of the following circumstances is 

6 present: 

7 ‘‘(A) The officer has reasonable basis for 

8 believing that continued domestic violence 

9 against the alleged victim is likely. 

10 ‘‘(B) There is evidence of physical injury 

11 to the alleged victim. 

12 ‘‘(C) The use of a deadly weapon or dan13 gerous instrument is evident. 

14 ‘‘(b) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—In this section, the term 

15 ‘domestic violence’ means any of the following engaged in 

16 by a person against the person’s spouse or former spouse 

17 or against a person with whom the person resides or for18 merly resided or against an individual with whom the per19 son has a child in common: 

20 ‘‘(1) Infliction of physical pain, bodily injury, or 

21 illness or damage to property. 

22 ‘‘(2) Intentional impairment of physical condi23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(3) A threat of conduct that would cause bod25 ily injury or damage to property. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ARRESTING OFFICER’S REPORT.—An officer 

2 who makes an arrest under subsection (b) shall submit 

3 a full written report of the alleged domestic violence inci4 dent to the officer’s supervisor and to the judge advocate 

5 within 10 days of the arrest. Such a report shall include— 

6 ‘‘(1) a description of physical injuries observed, 

7 if any; 

8 ‘‘(2) whenever possible, a statement from the 

9 victim and witnesses concerning the alleged domestic 

10 violence; and 

11 ‘‘(3) a statement that a copy of legal rights and 

12 notices was given to the victim. 

13 ‘‘(d) LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES.—(1) The Sec14 retary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to implement 

15 written policies regarding arrest procedures for domestic 

16 violence incidents. Those policies shall include the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(A) In most circumstances, a military law en19 forcement officer should arrest and take a person 

20 into custody if the officer has reasonable grounds to 

21 believe that the person is committing or has com22 mitted domestic violence and that the actions con23 stitute the commission of a crime. 

24 ‘‘(B) When the officer has reasonable grounds 

25 to believe that the spouses or former spouses or 


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1 other persons who reside together or resided to2 gether or share a child in common are committing 

3 or have committed domestic violence against each 

4 other, the officer does not have to arrest both par5 ties but should arrest the person whom the officer 

6 believes to be the primary physical aggressor. In de7 termining who is the primary physical aggressor, an 

8 officer should consider the intent of this section to 

9 protect victims of domestic violence, the relative in10 jury or fear inflicted on the persons involved, and 

11 any history of domestic violence between those per12 sons, if that history can be ascertained by the offi13 cer, or response of a person who acts in a reasonable 

14 manner to protect oneself or another family or 

15 household member from domestic violence. No victim 

16 shall be denied relief or charged for a domestic vio17 lence offense because the victim used reasonable 

18 force in self defense against domestic violence by an 

19 attacker. 

20 ‘‘(C) The decision of a military law enforcement 

21 officer as to whether or not to make an arrest under 

22 this section may not be based on the consent of the 

23 victim or any subsequent prosecution or on the rela24 tionship or the rank of the persons involved in the 

25 incident. 


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1 ‘‘(D) A decision of a military law enforcement 

2 officer’s decision not to arrest under this section 

3 may not be based solely upon the absence of visible 

4 injury or impairment. 

5 ‘‘(2) The policies under paragraph (1) shall include 

6 a procedure applicable to the report and referral required 

7 under subsection (c). Such procedures shall require that 

8 the military law enforcement agency shall, without charge, 

9 send a copy of the initial report and any subsequent, sup10 plemental, or related report, which excludes the victim’s 

11 statement or other materials that are part of an active 

12 criminal investigation and are exempt from disclosure, to 

13 the command and Family Advocacy Program exercising 

14 responsibility over the area in which the incident took 

15 place, to the victim advocate within the Department of De16 fense assigned to the installation and the nearest local do17 mestic violence center within 24 hours of the agency’s re18 ceipt of the report. The report furnished to the Family 

19 Advocacy Program, victim advocate, and local domestic vi20 olence center shall include a narrative description of the 

21 domestic violence incident. 

22 ‘‘(3) The policies under paragraph (1) shall include 

23 a procedure for notifying the alleged victim of the incident 

24 of domestic violence services from which the victim may 

25 receive assistance. The military law enforcement officer 


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1 shall provide the victim immediate notice of the legal 

2 rights and remedies available to the victim. Such notice 

3 shall be in a standard form developed and distributed by 

4 the Secretary of Defense. As necessary, the Secretary shall 

5 revise the victims’ rights brochure to include a summary 

6 of this section using simple English and shall distribute 

7 the notice as a model form to be used by all military law 

8 enforcement agencies. The notice shall include the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(A) The resources available for the area in 

11 which domestic violence services are sought, includ12 ing military resources (victim advocates, Family Ad13 vocacy Program, judge advocates, medical personnel, 

14 and command) and civilian agencies (shelter, victim 

15 advocates, counseling, county or state attorney of16 fices and centers). 

17 ‘‘(B) A copy of the following statement: ‘If you 

18 are a victim of domestic violence, you may ask the 

19 county or state attorney or judge advocate or Direc20 tor of Special Investigations or command to file a 

21 complaint. You also have the right to go to court 

22 and file a petition requesting a protective order from 

23 domestic violence to include provisions which re24 strain the alleged perpetrator from further acts of 

25 abuse; direct the abuser to leave your house; prevent 


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1 the abuser from entering your residence, school, 

2 business or place of employment; award you custody 

3 of your minor child or children; and direct the 

4 abuser to pay support to you and the minor children 

5 if he/she has a legal obligation to do so. You also 

6 have the right to request a military no contact order 

7 containing the above provisions.’. 

8 ‘‘(4) The policies under paragraph (1) shall include 

9 a procedure for notifying the alleged victim of the incident, 

10 a description of the procedure for releasing the arrested 

11 person, and the likelihood and probable time of the ar12 rested person’s release. 

13 ‘‘(5) In the development of policies under this sub14 section, the Secretary and shall consult with law enforce15 ment agencies and organizations with expertise in the rec16 ognition of domestic violence incidents. 

17 ‘‘(e) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INCIDENT REPORTS.—(1) 

18 A military law enforcement officer who responds to a do19 mestic violence incident shall prepare a domestic violence 

20 incident report. 

21 ‘‘(2) If a military law enforcement officer has reason22 able grounds to arrest a person who is committing or has 

23 committed domestic violence and that person’s actions 

24 constitute the commission of a crime, the officer shall pre25 pare a written statement detailing why the person was not 


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1 arrested. The report shall be sent to the judge advocate 

2 for the command of the suspect where the acts took place, 

3 immediately upon the completion of the investigation of 

4 the incident. The judge advocate shall review the report 

5 to determine whether the person involved in the incident 

6 should be charged with the commission of a crime. 

7 ‘‘(3) All information contained in the domestic vio8 lence incident report shall be forwarded to the appropriate 

9 military criminal investigative unit, to the judge advocate 

10 with responsibility for the jurisdiction, and to the com11 mander of the suspect and of the installation. 

12 ‘‘(4) The domestic violence incident report shall be 

13 on a form set forth in regulations prescribed by the Sec14 retary of Defense. The form shall include provision for the 

15 following information: 

16 ‘‘(A) The relationship of the parties. 

17 ‘‘(B) The sex of the parties. 

18 ‘‘(C) The time and date of the incident. 

19 ‘‘(D) The number of domestic violence calls in20 vestigated. 

21 ‘‘(E) Whether children were involved, or wheth22 er the alleged act of domestic violence had been com23 mitted in the presence of children. 

24 ‘‘(F) The type and extent of the abuse. 

25 ‘‘(G) The number and type of weapons involved. 


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1 ‘‘(H) The action taken by the law enforcement 

2 officer. 

3 ‘‘(I) The existence of any prior court or military 

4 orders issued to the parties. 

5 ‘‘(J) The number of domestic violence calls al6 leging a violation of a military no contact order or 

7 a protective order involving the parties. 

8 ‘‘(K) The number of arrests involving the par9 ties for a violation of a civilian protective order or 

10 details of disciplinary action taken for the violation 

11 of a military protective order. 

12 ‘‘(L) Any other data that may be necessary for 

13 a complete analysis of all circumstances leading to 

14 the alleged incident of domestic violence. 

15 ‘‘(f) CONTACT PROHIBITIONS.—(1) Unless there is a 

16 waiver by the victim, during the 72 hours immediately fol17 lowing an arrest for a domestic violence incident, the per18 son arrested— 

19 ‘‘(A) shall avoid the residence of the alleged vic20 tim of the domestic violence incident and, if applica21 ble, any premises temporarily occupied by the al22 leged victim; and 

23 ‘‘(B) shall avoid contacting or causing any per24 son, other than law enforcement officers or military 


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1 criminal investigators, judge advocates, or com2 manders, to contact the alleged victim. 

3 ‘‘(2) Unless there is a waiver by the victim under 

4 paragraph (1), a law enforcement officer who releases a 

5 person arrested for domestic violence from custody less 

6 than 72 hours after the arrest shall inform the arrested 

7 person orally and in writing of the requirements of this 

8 section and the consequences of violating this section. The 

9 arrested person shall sign an acknowledgment on the writ10 ten notice that the person has had notice of, and under11 stands the requirements, the consequences and the provi12 sions of this section. If the arrested person refuses to sign 

13 the notice, the person may not be released from custody. 

14 ‘‘(3) If there is a waiver under paragraph (1) and 

15 the person is arrested under this section, the law enforce16 ment officer who releases the arrested person shall inform 

17 the arrested person orally and in writing of the waiver. 

18 ‘‘(4) Failure to comply with the notice requirement 

19 under paragraph (2) regarding a person who is lawfully 

20 released from custody does not affect the prosecution for 

21 a crime of domestic violence. 

22 ‘‘(g) CONDITIONAL RELEASE.—A person arrested 

23 and taken into custody for a domestic violence incident 

24 is eligible for conditional release. Unless there is a waiver 

25 under section (f), as part of the conditions of any such 


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1 release that occurs within 72 hours immediately following 

2 such an arrest, the person shall be made to comply with 

3 the requirements under subsection (f)(1) and to sign the 

4 acknowledgment under subsection (f)(2). 

5 ‘‘§ 1568. Domestic violence: prosecution policies 

6 ‘‘The Secretary of Defense shall develop and imple7 ment written policies encouraging the prosecution of do8 mestic violence offenses under the military justice system. 

9 Those policies shall include the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) A policy that a recommendation of a judge 

11 advocate that a domestic violence incident not be 

12 prosecuted should not be based— 

13 ‘‘(A) solely upon the absence of visible in14 dications of injury; 

15 ‘‘(B) consent of the victim; 

16 ‘‘(C) consideration of the relationship of 

17 the parties; or 

18 ‘‘(D) the character, rank, rate, or quality 

19 of service of members of the Armed Forces, of20 ficers or employees. 

21 ‘‘(2) A policy that when a domestic violence in22 cident is not prosecuted by the judge advocates, in23 cluding a report made under this section, the deci24 sion by the judge advocates should be made not later 


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1 than 28 days after the date on which the judge ad2 vocate general has received notice of the incident. 

3 ‘‘§ 1569. Domestic violence: annual reports 

4 ‘‘(a) REPORTS TO SECRETARIES OF THE MILITARY

5 DEPARTMENTS.—Each judge advocate for a command 

6 who in the official capacity of that judge advocate receives 

7 an allegation of domestic violence during any year shall 

8 submit to the Secretary of the military department con9 cerned a report of all such allegations received during the 

10 year, together with such information as the Secretary may 

11 require, including the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) The number of arrests for domestic vio13 lence incidents in that judge advocate’s command, 

14 compiled and furnished by military law enforcement 

15 and military criminal investigators. 

16 ‘‘(2) The number of subsequent prosecutions 

17 and convictions of those arrested for domestic vio18 lence incidents. 

19 ‘‘(3) A listing of the number of arrests, pros20 ecutions, and convictions under paragraphs (1) and 

21 (2) shall include categories by statutory reference of 

22 offenses under chapter 47 of this title (the Uniform 

23 Code of Military Justice) and include totals for all 

24 categories. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.— 

2 Not later than January 1 of each year, the Secretaries 

3 of the military departments shall submit to the Secretary 

4 of Defense a report on the number of arrests, disposition 

5 of cases, subsequent prosecutions or disciplinary actions, 

6 and convictions for domestic violence involving members 

7 of the Armed Forces and officers and employees of the 

8 Department of Defense under their jurisdiction during the 

9 preceding year. 

10 ‘‘(c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Janu11 ary 15 of each year, the Secretary of Defense shall submit 

12 to Congress a report on the number of arrests, disposition 

13 of cases, subsequent prosecutions or disciplinary actions, 

14 and convictions for domestic violence involving members 

15 of the Armed Forces and officers and employees of the 

16 Department of Defense during the preceding year.’’. 

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

18 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

19 at the end the following new items: 

‘‘1567. Domestic violence: responsibilities of military law enforcement officials. 

‘‘1568. Domestic violence: prosecution policies. 

‘‘1569. Domestic violence: annual reports.’’. 

20 (c) DEADLINE.—The Secretary of Defense shall pre21 scribe in regulations the procedures to carry out sections 

22 1567 through 1569 of title 10, United States Code, as 

23 added by subsection (a), not later than 90 days after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (d) CONFORMING REPEAL.— 

2 (1) REPEAL.—Section 1058 of title 10, United 

3 States Code, is repealed. 

4 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

5 at the beginning of chapter 53 of such title is 

6 amended by striking the item relating to section 

7 1058. 

8 SEC. 303. INVESTIGATION OF SEXUAL AND DOMESTIC VIO9 LENCE CASES INVOLVING DEPARTMENT OF 

10 DEFENSE PERSONNEL. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Chapter 4 of title 10, United 

12 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 145. Director of Special Investigations 

15 ‘‘(a) APPOINTMENT.—There is a Director of Special 

16 Investigations in the Department of Defense. The Director 

17 is appointed by the Secretary of Defense from among per18 sons who have a significant level of experience in criminal 

19 investigations and possess a significant level of training 

20 and expertise in domestic violence, family violence, sexual 

21 assault, or stalking. 

22 ‘‘(b) SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE POSITION.—The 

23 position of Director of Special Investigations is a Senior 

24 Executive Service position. The Secretary shall designate 


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1 the position as a career reserved position under section 

2 3132(b) of title 5. 

3 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—Subject to the authority, direction, 

4 and control of the Secretary of Defense, the Director of 

5 Special Investigations shall perform the duties set forth 

6 in this section and such other related duties as the Sec7 retary may prescribe. 

8 ‘‘(d) DIRECT INVESTIGATIONS.—The Director shall 

9 review an investigation of an allegation of sexual mis10 conduct, sexual assault, family violence, stalking, or do11 mestic violence— 

12 ‘‘(1) if requested— 

13 ‘‘(A) by the director of the Office of Vet14 erans Affairs; 

15 ‘‘(B) by an investigative organization of 

16 the Department of Defense or one of the mili17 tary departments; or 

18 ‘‘(i) by a commander of a member of 

19 the Armed Forces alleged to have engaged 

20 in sexual misconduct, sexual assault, do21 mestic violence, family violence, or stalking 

22 or to have been the victim of sexual mis23 conduct, sexual assault, domestic violence, 

24 family violence, or stalking; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) in any case that the Secretary directs the 

2 Director to investigate. 

3 ‘‘(e) OVERSIGHT AND QUALITY CONTROL OF OTHER

4 INVESTIGATIONS.—(1) The Director shall review the sta5 tus of an investigation that is referred under subsection 

6 (d). 

7 ‘‘(2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Director may 

8 review the records of the investigation and observe the 

9 conduct of the ongoing investigation. 

10 ‘‘(3) The Director shall report to the Secretary on 

11 any investigation monitored pursuant to paragraph (1). 

12 The report may include the status of the investigation, an 

13 evaluation of the conduct of the investigation, an evalua14 tion of each investigator and the investigative organization 

15 involved in the investigation, and a recommendation for 

16 the future conduct of the investigation. 

17 ‘‘(f) POWERS.—In the performance of the duties set 

18 forth or authorized in this section, the Director shall have 

19 the following powers: 

20 ‘‘(1) To have access to all records, reports, au21 dits, reviews, documents, papers, recommendations, 

22 or other material available in the Department of De23 fense which relate to the duties of the Director. 

24 ‘‘(2) To request such information or assistance 

25 as may be necessary for carrying out the Director’s 


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1 duties from any Federal, State, or local govern2 mental agency or unit thereof. 

3 ‘‘(3) To require by subpoena the production of 

4 all information, documents, reports, answers, 

5 records, accounts, papers, and other data and docu6 mentary evidence necessary in the performance of 

7 the Director’s duties, which subpoena, in the case of 

8 contumacy or refusal to obey, shall be enforceable by 

9 order of any appropriate United States district 

10 court. 

11 ‘‘(4) To serve subpoenas, summons, and any ju12 dicial process related to the review of an investiga13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(5) To administer to or take from any person 

15 an oath, affirmation, or affidavit whenever necessary 

16 in the review of an investigation. 

17 ‘‘(6) To obtain for the victim in the case under 

18 review in the investigation from any military com19 mand a military protection order or from a court of 

20 appropriate jurisdiction an order of protection, re21 spectively, to safeguard the victim. 

22 ‘‘(7) To refer to a victim advocate for assist23 ance in obtaining services for any victim in the case 

24 under review. 


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1 ‘‘(8) To request the appropriate commander to 

2 take action to relocate the victim during an inves3 tigation in order to ensure the safety of a victim. 

4 ‘‘(g) REFERRALS FOR PROSECUTION.—(1) The Di5 rector may refer any case of sexual misconduct, domestic 

6 violence, family violence, sexual assault, or stalking de7 scribed in subsection (d)(1) to an appropriate commander 

8 for action under chapter 47 of this title (the Uniform Code 

9 of Military Justice) or other appropriate action. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Director shall report each such referral to 

11 the Secretary of Defense. 

12 ‘‘(h) STAFF.—The Director shall have access to— 

13 ‘‘(1) investigators who have extensive experience 

14 in criminal investigations and demonstrated exper15 tise in domestic violence, family violence, sexual as16 sault, or stalking; 

17 ‘‘(2) attorneys sufficient to provide the Direc18 tor, the criminal investigators, and the Director’s 

19 other staff personnel with legal counsel necessary for 

20 the performance of the duties of the Director; and 

21 ‘‘(3) such other staff as is necessary for the 

22 performance of the Director’s duties.’’. 

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

24 at the beginning of chapter 4 of such title is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘145. Director of Special Investigations.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Crimes Related to Sex2 ual Assault and Domestic Vio3 lence 

4 CHAPTER 1—FEDERAL CRIMINAL CODE 

5 SEC. 311. ASSIMILATIVE CRIMES. 

6 Section 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amend7 ed by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(d) For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, 

9 that which may or shall be imposed through judicial or 

10 administrative action under the law of a State, territory, 

11 possession, or district for conduct that constitutes a sexual 

12 assault, sexual abuse, sexual battery, rape, stalking, do13 mestic violence, or family violence offense of the jurisdic14 tion shall be considered to be punishment provided by the 

15 law of that jurisdiction.’’. 

16 SEC. 312. JURISDICTION FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DO17 MESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENSES COMMITTED 

18 OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. 

19 (a) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—Section 

20 3261(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 

21 inserting ‘‘or constitutes a sexual assault, sexual mis22 conduct, domestic violence, stalking, or family violence of23 fense’’ after ‘‘year’’. 


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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3267 of such title is 

2 amended by adding at the end the following new para3 graphs: 

4 ‘‘(5) The term ‘domestic violence’ has the 

5 meaning given such term in section 2007(1) of the 

6 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

7 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg–2(1)). 

8 ‘‘(6) The term ‘sexual assault’ has the meaning 

9 given such term in section 2007(6) of the Omnibus 

10 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 

11 U.S.C. 3796gg–2(6)). 

12 ‘‘(7) The term ‘sexual misconduct’ includes— 

13 ‘‘(A) sexual harassment, entailing any con14 duct involving sexual harassment that in the 

15 case of an employee of the Department of De16 fense or a family member subject to the juris17 diction of the Secretary of Defense or of the 

18 Secretary of a military department, comprises a 

19 violation of a regulation, directive, or guideline 

20 that is applicable to such employee or family 

21 member; 

22 ‘‘(B) sexual abuse; 

23 ‘‘(C) sexual assault; 

24 ‘‘(D) sexual battery; and 

25 ‘‘(E) rape. 


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1 ‘‘(8) STALKING.—The term ‘stalking’ means 

2 engaging in a course of conduct as proscribed in 

3 chapter 110A directed at a specific person that 

4 would cause a reasonable person to fear death, sex5 ual assault, or bodily injury to himself or herself or 

6 a member of his or her immediate family when— 

7 ‘‘(A) the person engaging in such conduct 

8 has knowledge or should have knowledge that 

9 the specific person will be placed in reasonable 

10 fear of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury to 

11 himself or herself or a member of his or her im12 mediate family; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the conduct induces fear in the spe14 cific person of death, sexual assault, or bodily 

15 injury to himself or herself or a member of his 

16 or her immediate family.’’. 

17 CHAPTER 2—UNIFORM CODE OF 

18 MILITARY JUSTICE 

19 SEC. 316. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND FAMILY VIOLENCE. 

20 (a) ASSAULT.—Section 928(b) of title 10, United 

21 States Code (article 128(b) of the Uniform Code of Mili22 tary Justice), is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

24 (1); 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

2 (2); and 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) commits an assault involving domestic vio6 lence or family violence;’’. 

7 (b) ASSAULT INVOLVING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR

8 FAMILY VIOLENCE DEFINED.—Such section is further 

9 amended by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(c) In this section, the term ‘assault involving do12 mestic violence or family violence’ means— 

13 ‘‘(1) an assault— 

14 ‘‘(A) with the intent to kill, injure, harass, 

15 or intimidate a spouse, intimate partner, or 

16 family member, or any other person related by 

17 consanguinity or affinity; 

18 ‘‘(B) in which the accused intentionally in19 flicts bodily harm with or without a weapon 

20 upon a spouse, former spouse, intimate partner, 

21 or family member, or any other person related 

22 by consanguinity or affinity; or 

23 ‘‘(C) in which the accused places a person 

24 in reasonable fear of imminent bodily injury to 

25 that person or to another person; 


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1 ‘‘(2) a sexual assault; or 

2 ‘‘(3) any conduct in which the accused— 

3 ‘‘(A) places a person in reasonable fear of 

4 imminent bodily injury to that person or to an5 other; 

6 ‘‘(B) harasses or intimidates a spouse, inti7 mate partner, or family member or person re8 lated by consanguinity or affinity, in the course 

9 of or as a result of which the accused commits 

10 a crime of violence against the spouse, intimate 

11 partner, or family member or person related by 

12 consanguinity or affinity; or 

13 ‘‘(C) uses force, coercion, duress, or fraud 

14 to facilitate, commit, or attempt to commit a 

15 crime of violence against a spouse, former 

16 spouse, intimate partner, or family member.’’. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply with respect to offenses committed 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (d) INTERIM MAXIMUM PUNISHMENTS.—Until the 

21 President otherwise provides pursuant to section 856 of 

22 title 10, United States Code (article 56 of the Uniform 

23 Code of Military Justice), the punishment which a court24 martial may direct for an offense under subsection (b)(3) 

25 of section 928 of such title (article 128 of the Uniform 


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1 Code of Military Justice) may not exceed the following 

2 limits: 

3 (1) For an assault involving domestic violence 

4 or family violence if the death of the victim results, 

5 such punishment may not exceed dishonorable dis6 charge, forfeiture of pay and allowances, and con7 finement for life without eligibility for parole. 

8 (2) For an assault involving domestic violence 

9 or family violence if permanent disfigurement or life 

10 threatening bodily injury to the victim results, such 

11 punishment may be twice that as provided including 

12 dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and allow13 ances, and confinement for 30 years. 

14 (3) For an assault involving domestic violence 

15 or family violence if serious bodily injury to the vic16 tim results or if the accused uses a dangerous weap17 on, such punishment may not exceed dishonorable 

18 discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 

19 confinement for 20 years. 

20 (4) For an assault involving domestic violence 

21 or family violence, such punishment may not exceed 

22 dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and al23 lowances, and confinement for 10 years. 


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1 SEC. 317. PROTECTIVE ORDERS. 

2 (a) ENFORCEMENT OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS.—Sec3 tion 892 of title 10, United States Code (article 92 of the 

4 Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘Any person’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

7 (2); 

8 (3) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

9 (3); 

10 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(4) violates or fails to obey a no contact order 

13 or protective order;’’; and 

14 (5) by adding at the end of such section the fol15 lowing new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(b) In this section, the term ‘no contact order or 

17 protective order’ includes— 

18 ‘‘(1) a no contact order issued by a command 

19 or supervisor to a member to safeguard a spouse, 

20 former spouse, intimate partner, or family member 

21 of a member; 

22 ‘‘(2) a protection order as defined in section 

23 2266(5) of title 18; and 

24 ‘‘(3) a protective order as defined in section 

25 1561a of this title.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply with respect to offenses committed 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 Subtitle C—Treatment Services for 

5 Perpetrators 

6 SEC. 321. ENHANCED CAPACITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 

7 DEFENSE FOR TREATMENT SERVICES FOR 

8 PERPETRATORS. 

9 (a) CONTRACTS AUTHORIZED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, 

11 acting through the Undersecretary of Defense for 

12 Personnel and Readiness, may enter into contracts 

13 with eligible entities for the provision of treatment 

14 services, including a batterers program, for members 

15 of the Armed Forces who have been assessed to have 

16 committed domestic violence, family violence, sexual 

17 assault, or stalking. 

18 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (A) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘eligi20 ble entity’’ means a public or private, nonprofit 

21 or nongovernmental entity the primary purpose 

22 of which is to provide treatment services to per23 petrators of domestic violence, family violence, 

24 sexual assault, or stalking. 


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1 (B) BATTERERS PROGRAM.—The term 

2 ‘‘batterers program’’ means a program ap3 proved or certified by a State that is operated 

4 by a public or not-for-profit organization for the 

5 purpose of providing battering prevention and 

6 educational services and the goal of which is to 

7 help perpetrators end abusive behaviors. 

8 (b) TERMS OF CONTRACT.—A contract awarded 

9 under this section shall provide that the entity awarded 

10 the contract— 

11 (1) may provide for collaboration with existing 

12 services in the civilian community for the provision 

13 of appropriate treatment services; 

14 (2) when appropriate treatment services are not 

15 available in the civilian community or are not acces16 sible, may provide such services on military installa17 tions; 

18 (3) shall not, under the contract, provide couple 

19 counseling or mediation, but may provide referrals 

20 for such counseling or mediation upon successful 

21 completion of a certified batterers program and at 

22 the request of the victim. 

23 (c) TERMS OF BATTERERS PROGRAM.—The Sec24 retary shall ensure that the batterers program shall have 

25 policies regarding— 


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1 (1) referrals for those for whom a batterers 

2 program is not appropriate; 

3 (2) suicide and homicide threats by clients; and 

4 (3) confidentiality, in accordance with stand5 ards prescribed by the Secretary. 

6 (d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 

7 receive a contract under this section shall submit to the 

8 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

9 and containing such information as the Secretary may re10 quire, consistent with the requirements specified in this 

11 section. 

12 (e) TREATMENT STANDARDS.—The treatment pro13 gram under the batterers program must meet the fol14 lowing standards: 

15 (1) All treatment shall be based upon a full, 

16 complete clinical assessment, including— 

17 (A) current and past violence history relat18 ing to domestic violence, family violence, sexual 

19 assault, or stalking; 

20 (B) a complete diagnostic evaluation; 

21 (C) a substance abuse assessment; and 

22 (D) criminal history. 

23 (2) All treatment shall be based on a treatment 

24 plan that adequately and appropriately addresses 

25 treatment needs of the individual. 


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1 (3) The program shall require the perpetrator 

2 to review the following notices: 

3 (A) A notice that the program will inform 

4 the victim and victims’ advocate that the perpe5 trator is in treatment. 

6 (B) A notice that prior and current treat7 ment agencies will provide information on the 

8 perpetrator to the program. 

9 (C) A notice that the program will provide 

10 relevant information on the perpetrator to rel11 evant legal and military entities. 

12 (4) Treatment of a perpetrator must be for a 

13 minimum treatment period established by the Sec14 retary by regulation. 

15 (5) Satisfactory completion of treatment must 

16 be contingent upon the perpetrator meeting specific 

17 criteria, defined by the Secretary, and not just upon 

18 the end of a certain period of time or attendance of 

19 the perpetrator at a certain number of sessions. 

20 (6) The program shall have a policy and proce21 dures for dealing with recidivism. 

22 (7) The program shall have a policy and proce23 dures for dealing with noncompliance. 


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1 (8) All evaluation and treatment services shall 

2 be provided by, and under the supervision of, quali3 fied personnel. 

4 (f) DURATION OF CONTRACTS.—A contract awarded 

5 under this section shall be for a period of three fiscal 

6 years. Such a contract may be renewed. 

7 (g) REPORTS.—An entity awarded a contract under 

8 this section shall submit to the Secretary every six months 

9 a report that describes, at a minimum— 

10 (1) how the funds under the contract were 

11 used; 

12 (2) the extent to which military personnel were 

13 served; 

14 (3) the adequacy of staff training and services; 

15 (4) the existence of barriers to the provision of 

16 services; 

17 (5) pertinent and appropriate factors con18 cerning perpetrators in the program, including age, 

19 education, income, marital status, number of chil20 dren and their ages, any substance abuse, and per21 sonal history of family violence; 

22 (6) the total number of persons referred to the 

23 program, and the referral source; 

24 (7) total number of persons determined to be 

25 inappropriate for services and reasons therefor; and 


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1 (8) the number of persons participating in the 

2 program, the number completing the program, the 

3 number failing to complete the program, and rea4 sons therefor. 

5 (h) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.—The 

6 definitions in section 102 of title 10, United States Code, 

7 as added by section 101(a), apply to this section. 

8 SEC. 322. SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT PROGRAM. 

9 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘sex of10 fender treatment program’’ means a program approved or 

11 certified by a State that is operated by a public or non12 profit organization for the purpose of providing treatment 

13 services for sex offenders. 

14 (b) TERMS OF CONTRACT.—A contract awarded 

15 under this section shall provide that the sex offender treat16 ment program awarded the contract— 

17 (1) may provide for collaboration with existing 

18 services in the civilian community for the provision 

19 of appropriate treatment services; 

20 (2) when appropriate treatment services are not 

21 available in the civilian community or are not acces22 sible, may provide such services on military installa23 tions. 

24 (c) QUALIFIED TREATMENT PROVIDERS.—The Sec25 retary of Defense, acting through the Under Secretary of 


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1 Defense for Personnel and Readiness shall ensure that the 

2 providers of sex offender treatment in the contracted pro3 gram meet the licensing or certification standards of the 

4 State in which services are provided. The treatment pro5 viders shall— 

6 (1) have education, training and experience in 

7 the evaluation, treatment and management of indi8 viduals who sexually offend; 

9 (2) possess a graduate degree and possess a 

10 minimum of 2000 hours of clinical assessment and 

11 treatment of sexual abusers and obtain annual con12 tinuing education in the field of sexual abuse; and 

13 (3) adhere to the professional conduct code of 

14 their clinical profession. 

15 (d) TREATMENT STANDARDS.—The sex offender 

16 treatment program for contracted sex offender treatment 

17 shall— 

18 (1) utilize psychosexual evaluations— 

19 (A) to determine an offender’s risk to re20 offend; 

21 (B) to identify dynamic risk factors; and 

22 (C) to develop appropriate treatment and 

23 supervision plans; 

24 (2) provide interventions that are— 


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1 (A) designed to assist the offender to man2 age thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and behaviors 

3 associated with their risk to reoffend; 

4 (B) utilize recognized treatment modalities 

5 that are considered most effective in reducing 

6 rates of reoffense; and 

7 (C) manage offenders in the community 

8 utilizing a risk management team approach. 

9 TITLE IV—COUNSELING AND 

10 TREATMENT PROGRAMS OF 

11 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

12 AFFAIRS 

13 SEC. 401. RESEARCH ON BEST PRACTICES TO OVERCOME 

14 STIGMA RELATED TO MILITARY SEXUAL 

15 TRAUMA. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Vet17 erans Affairs, in cooperation with Secretary of Defense, 

18 should conduct research into best practices that allow vet19 erans who have been victims of sexual assault while in the 

20 Armed Forces to overcome stigma in order to report the 

21 crime, seek treatment, and recover. 

22 SEC. 402. TRAINING FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF23 FAIRS PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS. 

24 (a) TRAINING REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Vet25 erans Affairs shall ensure that all primary care providers 


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1 who are employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs 

2 (or who treat veterans for the Department on a fee or 

3 contract basis) receive training in— 

4 (1) effective screening methods for identifying 

5 veterans who have suffered from military sexual 

6 trauma; and 

7 (2) the process for referring for appropriate 

8 treatment and services veterans who are so identi9 fied. 

10 (b) CURRENT PROVIDERS.—For those primary care 

11 providers referred to in subsection (a) who are employed 

12 as of the date of the enactment of this Act and who have 

13 not previously received the training described in such sub14 section, such training shall be completed not later than 

15 the end of the one-year period beginning on the date of 

16 the enactment of this Act. 

17 (c) ELEMENTS OF TRAINING.—The training under 

18 subsection (a) shall require that all primary care providers 

19 to be able to do the following: 

20 (1) Describe the Department of Veterans Af21 fairs mandate and the prevalence of military sexual 

22 trauma. 

23 (2) Describe the relevance of military sexual 

24 trauma to Department of Veterans Affairs clini25 cians. 


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1 (3) Identify the health correlates of sexual trau2 ma. 

3 (4) Explain the effective screening methods for 

4 military sexual trauma. 

5 (5) List the steps to be taken by a clinician 

6 when responding to disclosure of military sexual 

7 trauma. 

8 (6) Explain the referral process of a patient 

9 who experienced military sexual trauma to mental 

10 health and social services. 

11 (7) Describe the mental health treatment for 

12 military sexual trauma. 

13 (8) Describe the documentation requirements 

14 for military sexual trauma treatment and compensa15 tion. 

16 (9) Explain the compensation issues associated 

17 with military sexual trauma. 

18 (10) Describe the complex patient-provider rela19 tionship issues associated with military sexual trau20 ma. 

21 (11) Identify the risk factors that could cause 

22 post-traumatic stress disorder flares in military sex23 ual trauma survivors. 

24 (12) Define revictimization. 

25 (13) Assess intimate partner violence. 


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1 (14) Describe treatment of acute sexual trauma 

2 victims. 

3 (15) Recognize how clinicians can care for 

4 themselves and avoid burnout. 

5 SEC. 403. PILOT PROGRAM ON WAYS TO IDENTIFY VET6 ERANS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF MILITARY SEX7 UAL TRAUMA. 

8 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af9 fairs shall conduct a pilot program to identify effective 

10 ways of screening and referral processes for primary care 

11 providers to identify veterans who are victims of military 

12 sexual trauma. 

13 (b) DURATION.—The pilot program under this sec14 tion shall be commenced not later than six months after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act and shall be con16 ducted for a period of three years. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

18 of the completion of the pilot program under this section, 

19 the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Armed 

20 Services and on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House 

21 of Representatives a report on the Secretary’s evaluation 

22 of the pilot program. 


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1 SEC. 404. PILOT PROGRAM ON TREATMENT OF ACTIVE2 DUTY MILITARY PERSONNEL THROUGH FA3 CILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET4 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Veterans Af6 fairs shall conduct a pilot program with the Secretary of 

7 Defense under which active-duty military personnel who 

8 are victims of military sexual trauma may be provided con9 fidential treatment for such trauma through facilities of 

10 the Department of Veterans Affairs. The pilot program 

11 shall be carried out pursuant to a memorandum of agree12 ment between the two Secretaries. 

13 (b) DURATION.—The pilot program under this sec14 tion shall be commenced not later than six months after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act and shall be con16 ducted for a period of three years. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

18 of the completion of the pilot program under this section, 

19 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com20 mittees on Armed Services and on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

21 Senate and House of Representatives a report on the Sec22 retary’s evaluation of the pilot program. 


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1 TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 

2 Subtitle A—Administration Matters 

3 SEC. 501. PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS AND BENEFITS. 

4 The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the 

5 military department concerned may not approve for pres6 entation of a financial award for performance of work or 

7 duties, and may not approve for promotion, an officer or 

8 employee of the Department of Defense or a member of 

9 the Armed Forces who— 

10 (1) has been convicted of a criminal offense in11 volving domestic violence, family violence, sexual as12 sault, or stalking (as those terms are defined in sec13 tion 102 of title 10, United States Code); or 

14 (2) has received any other disciplinary action or 

15 adverse personnel action on the basis of having en16 gaged in domestic violence, family violence, sexual 

17 assault, or stalking. 

18 SEC. 502. CLOSURE OF ARTICLE 32 INVESTIGATIONS IN 

19 CASES OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OR DOMESTIC VI20 OLENCE. 

21 Section 832 of title 10, United States Code (article 

22 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended 

23 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(f) In an investigation under this article that in25 cludes a charge or specification (or an uncharged offense 


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1 included in the investigation pursuant to subsection (d)) 

2 of sexual assault or domestic violence, the investigating 

3 officer shall give particular consideration to closing the in4 vestigation to the public.’’. 

5 Subtitle B—Enhancement of 

6 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 

7 SEC. 511. AMENDMENTS TO SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RE8 LIEF ACT. 

9 (a) EXCEPTION TO AUTHORITY TO ORDER STAYS IN

10 CIVIL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 202(b)(1) of the 

11 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 

12 522(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except in the case 

13 of an order of protection or restraining order,’’ after ‘‘pro14 ceeding’’. 

15 (b) CHANGE IN REFERENCES FROM ‘‘DEPENDENTS’’ 

16 TO ‘‘FAMILY MEMBERS’’.— 

17 (1) Section 101(4) of such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 

18 511(4)) is amended— 

19 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘DEPEND20 ENT’’ and inserting ‘‘FAMILY MEMBER’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘dependent’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘family member’’. 

23 (2) Such Act is further amended by striking 

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1 pear and inserting ‘‘family member’’ and ‘‘family 

2 members’’, respectively. 

3 (3)(A) The heading for section 308 of such Act 

4 (50 U.S.C. App. 538) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 308. Extension of protections to family members.’’. 

6 (B) The item relating to such section in the 

7 table of contents in section 1(b) of such Act (50 

8 U.S.C. App. 501(b)) is amended to conform to the 

9 amendment made by subparagraph (A). 

10 Subtitle C—Research on Preva11 lence, Needs Assessment, Serv12 ices, and Accountability 

13 SEC. 521. RESEARCH ON SEXUAL ASSAULT, DOMESTIC VIO14 LENCE, AND FAMILY VIOLENCE IN THE 

15 ARMED FORCES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense, in con17 junction with the Attorney General, shall carry out a com18 prehensive research study on the prevalence and nature 

19 of sexual assault, domestic violence, and family violence 

20 in the Armed Forces. To the extent that incidents of sex21 ual assault are also incidents of domestic violence or fam22 ily violence, research activities for the purpose of the study 

23 under this section can be conducted simultaneously and 

24 in collaboration. The research study shall include the iden25 tification of— 


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1 (1) the common characteristics (if any) of vic2 tims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and family 

3 violence; 

4 (2) the common characteristics (if any) of per5 petrators of sexual assault, domestic violence, and 

6 family violence; 

7 (3) the situations and environments in which 

8 sexual assault, domestic violence, and family violence 

9 occur; and 

10 (4) the affect of deployments, duty stations, 

11 combat service, and veteran and active duty status 

12 on sexual assault, domestic violence, and family vio13 lence. 

14 (b) CATEGORIZATION OF DATA.—The research study 

15 under this section shall be conducted with statistically sig16 nificant random samples of men and women who are ac17 tively serving in each of the Armed Forces. The selection 

18 shall include enough men and women so that the data col19 lected are representative of men and women in each 

20 branch and comparisons can be made across several broad 

21 subgroup categories, such as age, race, rank, and length 

22 of service in the Armed Forces. 

23 (c) PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS.—The Sec24 retary shall ensure the confidentiality of each survey par25 ticipant. 


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1 (d) DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING.—Once data 

2 have been collected, the Secretary shall conduct appro3 priate analyses to determine the extent and nature of sex4 ual assault, family violence, and domestic violence within 

5 the Armed Forces. 

6 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 36 months after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub8 mit to Congress a report providing the results of the study 

9 under this section. The report shall include the following: 

10 (1) The incidence and prevalence of sexual as11 sault, family violence, and domestic violence involv12 ing members of the Armed Forces. 

13 (2) The number of legal, judicial, nonjudicial, 

14 and rehabilitative responses to sexual assault and 

15 domestic violence, disaggregated by service. 

16 (3) The extent to which such responses are ef17 fective at ensuring victim safety, requiring offender 

18 accountability, and imposing sanctions on the of19 fender. 

20 (4) A review of the availability and accessibility 

21 of the prevention and intervention programs avail22 able to members of the Armed Forces and their fam23 ilies and partners and the effectiveness of those pro24 grams at increasing victim safety. 


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1 (5) Recommendations for improvements to De2 partment of Defense procedures and programs to 

3 prevent and intervene in cases of sexual assault, 

4 family violence, and domestic violence involving 

5 members of the Armed Forces. 

6 SEC. 522. RESEARCH ON INSTITUTIONAL PROCEDURES FOR 

7 REPORTING SEXUAL ASSAULT, DOMESTIC VI8 OLENCE, AND FAMILY VIOLENCE IN THE 

9 ARMED FORCES. 

10 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 

11 shall provide for a study to examine procedures under12 taken after a military official receives a report of an inci13 dent of sexual assault, domestic violence, or family vio14 lence. The study shall be undertaken in consultation with 

15 the Attorney General. 

16 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The study under 

17 subsection (a) shall include an analysis of the following: 

18 (1) The adequacy of the publication of the defi19 nition applicable to the Armed Forces of each of the 

20 following terms: sexual assault, domestic violence, 

21 and family violence. 

22 (2) The publication of the Armed Forces policy 

23 for sexual assault, domestic violence, and family vio24 lence. 


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1 (3) The individuals to whom reports of sexual 

2 assault, domestic violence, and family violence are 

3 given most often and— 

4 (A) how those individuals are trained to re5 spond to such reports; and 

6 (B) the extent to which those individuals 

7 are trained. 

8 (4) The reporting options that are presented to 

9 persons as available to them if the become a victim 

10 of sexual assault, domestic violence, and family vio11 lence, both as to— 

12 (A) reporting and procedure options on 

13 military installation; and 

14 (B) reporting and procedure options out15 side of military installations. 

16 (5) The resources available for victims’ safety, 

17 support, medical health, and confidentiality. 

18 (6) Policies and practices that may prevent or 

19 discourage the report of sexual assaults, domestic vi20 olence, and family violence to local crime authorities 

21 or that may otherwise obstruct justice or interfere 

22 with the prosecution of perpetrators of sexual as23 sault, domestic violence, and family violence. 

24 (7) Policies and procedures found successful in 

25 aiding the report, and any ensuing investigation or 


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1 prosecution, of sexual assault, domestic violence, or 

2 family violence. 

3 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

4 submit to Congress a report on the study required by sub5 section (a) not later than one year after the date of the 

6 enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 523. RESEARCH ON DATING VIOLENCE ASSOCIATED 

8 WITH THE ARMED FORCES. 

9 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 

10 shall carry out a comprehensive research study on the 

11 prevalence and nature of intimate partner violence in the 

12 Armed Forces, including dating violence and violence 

13 among former spouses or partners who are cohabiting with 

14 or have cohabited with members of the Armed Forces. The 

15 study shall be carried out in cooperation with the Attorney 

16 General. 

17 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The study under 

18 subsection (a) shall include the identification of the com19 mon characteristics of— 

20 (1) both victims of intimate partner violence 

21 and perpetrators of intimate partner violence; 

22 (2) the situations and environments in which 

23 intimate partner violence occurs; and 


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1 (3) the effect of deployments, duty stations, 

2 combat service, and veteran, reserve or active duty, 

3 or combat status. 

4 (c) CATEGORIZATION OF DATA.—The study under 

5 subsection (a) shall be conducted with statistically signifi6 cant random samples of men and women who are actively 

7 serving in each branch of the Armed Forces and family 

8 members. The selection shall include enough men and 

9 women so the data that are collected are representative 

10 of men and women in each branch and comparisons can 

11 be made across several broad subgroup categories, such 

12 as age, race, rank, and length of service in the Armed 

13 Forces. 

14 (d) CONFIDENTIALITY OF SUBJECTS.—The Sec15 retary shall ensure the confidentiality of each survey par16 ticipant. 

17 (e) DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING.—Once data 

18 have been collected, the Secretary shall conduct appro19 priate analyses to determine the extent and nature of inti20 mate violence within the Armed Forces, prevention, inter21 vention and response, and needs of victims of intimate 

22 partner violence. 

23 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 36 months after the 

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1 mit to Congress a report providing the results of the study 

2 under this section. The report shall include the following: 

3 (1) The incidence and prevalence of intimate 

4 partner violence involving members of the Armed 

5 Forces. 

6 (2) A discussion of the prevention and interven7 tion available to intimate partners of members of the 

8 Armed Forces. 

9 (3) A discussion of the legal, judicial, non10 judicial, and rehabilitative responses to intimate 

11 partner violence and how those responses vary 

12 across the services. 

13 (4) The extent to which such responses are ef14 fective at ensuring victim safety, requiring offender 

15 accountability, and imposing sanctions on the of16 fender. 

17 (5) A review of the availability and accessibility 

18 of the prevention and intervention programs avail19 able to victims who are members on active duty and 

20 victims who are civilians and the effectiveness of 

21 those programs at increasing victim safety. 

22 (6) Recommendations for improvements to De23 partment of Defense procedures and programs to 

24 prevent and intervene in cases of intimate partner 

25 violence. 


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1 SEC. 524. RESEARCH ON CHILD MALTREATMENT, ABUSE, 

2 AND HOMICIDE IN THE ARMED FORCES. 

3 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Defense 

4 shall carry out a comprehensive research study on the 

5 prevalence and nature of child maltreatment, abuse, sui6 cide, and homicide in the Armed Forces. The study shall 

7 be carried out in cooperation with the Secretary of Health 

8 and Human Services. The study shall include the identi9 fication of the common characteristics of— 

10 (1) both victims and perpetrators of child mal11 treatment, abuse, or homicide associated with the 

12 Armed Forces; and 

13 (2) the situations and environments in which 

14 child maltreatment, abuse, suicide, or homicide oc15 curs. 

16 (b) SAMPLING TECHNIQUES.—The research study 

17 under subsection (a) shall be conducted with statistically 

18 significant random samples. The selection shall include 

19 data collected across several broad subgroup categories, 

20 such as age, race, status, and rank in the Armed Forces. 

21 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall ensure 

22 the confidentiality of each survey participant. 

23 (d) DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING.—Once data 

24 have been collected, the Secretary shall conduct appro25 priate analyses to determine the extent and nature of child 


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1 maltreatment, abuse, suicide, and homicide within the 

2 Armed Forces. 

3 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub5 mit to Congress a report providing the results of the study 

6 under this section. The report shall include the following: 

7 (1) The incidence and prevalence of child mal8 treatment, abuse, suicide, and homicide involving 

9 members of the Armed Forces. 

10 (2) A discussion of the legal, judicial, non11 judicial, and rehabilitative responses to child mal12 treatment, abuse, suicide, and homicide and how 

13 those responses vary across the services. 

14 (3) The extent to which such responses are ef15 fective at ensuring victim safety, requiring offender 

16 accountability, and imposing sanctions on the of17 fender. 

18 (4) A review of the availability, accessibility, 

19 and effectiveness at increasing victim safety within 

20 the existing prevention and intervention programs 

21 available to victims of child maltreatment, abuse, 

22 suicide, and homicide within the Armed Forces. 


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1 (5) Recommendations for a comprehensive 

2 strategy for prevention and intervention in cases of 

3 child maltreatment, abuse, suicide, and homicide. 

Æ 


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