Corey Calabrese, visiting scholar at the Cornell Law School Avon Global Center for Women and Justice, discusses the long-term implications of the recent sentencing of Brigadier General Sinclair on sexual assault charges.

Calabrese says:

“The Sinclair case highlights the ongoing need to reform the military justice system with respect to victims of sexual violence. Sexual assault cases are intrinsically difficult and often involve working with traumatized victims. Additionally, the military’s 2012 Gender and Workplace Survey found that 25 percent of sexual assault perpetrators are in the victim’s chain of command. Both of these issues were at play in this case.

“In order to achieve justice for victims in the future, it is essential that an independent and impartial justice system for military sexual assault is set in place”