WEBVTT 00:00.180 --> 00:02.373 - It's called the United States aircraft carrier. 00:02.373 --> 00:03.206 (audience laughing) 00:03.206 --> 00:04.841 Just to set the record straight. 00:04.841 --> 00:06.540 (audience laughing) 00:06.540 --> 00:08.400 Better people. 00:08.400 --> 00:10.050 Better leaders. 00:10.050 --> 00:11.830 Better nation. 00:11.830 --> 00:14.020 It's a terrific segue to allow me 00:14.020 --> 00:16.357 to introduce the next speaker. 00:16.357 --> 00:19.400 She's never shied from a fight. 00:19.400 --> 00:22.280 26 years in the United States Air Force. 00:22.280 --> 00:24.270 The first female combat pilot. 00:24.270 --> 00:26.490 The first female squadron leader. 00:26.490 --> 00:30.060 Not a small set of events. 00:30.060 --> 00:33.500 She also flies what I believe, from my point of view, 00:33.500 --> 00:36.030 one of the most beautiful aircraft made, the A-10. 00:36.030 --> 00:37.456 The Warthog. 00:37.456 --> 00:38.289 (audience member cheering) 00:38.289 --> 00:39.608 Exactly. 00:39.608 --> 00:41.642 (audience laughs) 00:41.642 --> 00:45.320 Second district for four years down in Arizona. 00:45.320 --> 00:46.840 Now a senator. 00:46.840 --> 00:49.054 An amazing public servant. 00:49.054 --> 00:53.510 But recently, announced that she was a survivor. 00:53.510 --> 00:56.350 I think this conversation will be relevant. 00:56.350 --> 00:58.490 I think the senator has much to share with us. 00:58.490 --> 01:01.486 So without further ado, Senator McSally. 01:01.486 --> 01:04.750 (audience clapping) 01:04.750 --> 01:05.583 Go get 'em. 01:05.583 --> 01:10.350 - Thank you, I appreciate it. 01:10.350 --> 01:13.050 Alright thank you for the warm introduction. 01:13.050 --> 01:15.370 It's great to be back in Annapolis. 01:15.370 --> 01:17.270 I was thinking back, the last time I was here 01:17.270 --> 01:19.670 I think we beat you guys in swimming. 01:19.670 --> 01:22.350 I was on the swim team at the Air Force Academy. 01:22.350 --> 01:25.240 But first of all, thank you for bringing this together. 01:25.240 --> 01:28.110 Thanks for the service secretaries and the chiefs, 01:28.110 --> 01:30.840 representatives from I think over 120 universities, 01:30.840 --> 01:32.880 university presidents coming together 01:32.880 --> 01:37.290 for this historic and unprecedented opportunity. 01:37.290 --> 01:39.470 For you guys to tackle and address 01:39.470 --> 01:40.520 the issues of sexual assault 01:40.520 --> 01:43.340 at our military academies and at our universities. 01:43.340 --> 01:44.660 This is so crucial. 01:44.660 --> 01:48.320 And you know, I didn't plan on being here. 01:48.320 --> 01:50.640 I actually, if you would ask me, 01:50.640 --> 01:51.510 you know, a few months ago, 01:51.510 --> 01:52.690 would you be sitting here in Annapolis 01:52.690 --> 01:55.100 talking about military sexual assault 01:55.100 --> 01:57.520 not just as a commander but as a survivor. 01:57.520 --> 02:00.040 That wouldn't have been in the cards. 02:00.040 --> 02:02.350 But you know what, sometimes life puts you 02:02.350 --> 02:05.445 in certain circumstances that you gotta step up and lead. 02:05.445 --> 02:07.760 And I didn't expect to be doing this. 02:07.760 --> 02:09.080 I didn't really expect to share 02:09.080 --> 02:10.710 what I shared about a month ago. 02:10.710 --> 02:13.700 It wasn't a secret to the people who know me and love me, 02:13.700 --> 02:16.950 that I was a survivor of military sexual assault. 02:16.950 --> 02:19.170 But I never really shared it publicly 02:19.170 --> 02:21.975 and especially as a United States senator. 02:21.975 --> 02:24.360 Previously, often when I get introduced 02:24.360 --> 02:26.190 I'm defined as an Air Force Academy graduate. 02:26.190 --> 02:27.680 I'm defined as a Warthog pilot 02:27.680 --> 02:29.917 and all the opportunities that I had to serve. 02:29.917 --> 02:33.640 And now, I'm also coming and speaking to you 02:33.640 --> 02:35.120 not just as someone who's been through all that, 02:35.120 --> 02:36.946 somebody who has lead many women in combat. 02:36.946 --> 02:40.210 You know, somebody who has very strong passions and feelings 02:40.210 --> 02:43.540 about how we need to rat out sexual assault in our military 02:43.540 --> 02:45.100 and at our universities, 02:45.100 --> 02:48.350 but also as somebody who's been through it as a survivor. 02:48.350 --> 02:52.810 Been asked a lot since then, why did I share that? 02:52.810 --> 02:57.160 I wanna let you know that we had a hearing on a Wednesday 02:57.160 --> 02:59.250 and I decided on a Monday night. 02:59.250 --> 03:01.300 As I looked, I flew into D.C. from Arizona, 03:01.300 --> 03:02.460 I looked at the hearing schedule. 03:02.460 --> 03:05.404 I looked, we were talking about sexual assault. 03:05.404 --> 03:08.376 I thought that we were gonna have some survivors there. 03:08.376 --> 03:12.870 Within the military we're having a rigorous policy debate 03:12.870 --> 03:15.020 about whether commanders should still retain 03:15.020 --> 03:18.010 responsibilities for the decision making 03:18.010 --> 03:19.500 related to sexual assault. 03:19.500 --> 03:22.230 I strongly believe they need to. 03:22.230 --> 03:24.010 So I have those perspectives. 03:24.010 --> 03:26.830 I was gonna share those perspectives, but I just really felt 03:26.830 --> 03:29.491 that with victims there on the panel and my perspectives 03:29.491 --> 03:33.060 coming not just being as a commander but as a survivor, 03:33.060 --> 03:35.775 that I just needed to share that 03:35.775 --> 03:40.775 in order to sort of complete the perspectives that I have. 03:40.860 --> 03:41.693 You know from the fullness 03:41.693 --> 03:43.610 of everything that I've been through. 03:43.610 --> 03:46.660 And so I decided that on a Monday night for Wednesday, 03:46.660 --> 03:48.760 that I would just share my heart. 03:48.760 --> 03:50.740 I get asked a lot since then, why did you do that? 03:50.740 --> 03:52.370 Well, there's a couple of reasons. 03:52.370 --> 03:54.920 You know one is that I was hoping 03:54.920 --> 03:58.050 to also be an inspiration to some people 03:58.050 --> 03:59.535 who have been through this. 03:59.535 --> 04:01.204 Maybe provide them a little bit of hope. 04:01.204 --> 04:04.366 You probably know these numbers, but according to the CDC, 04:04.366 --> 04:07.358 one in three women and one in four men 04:07.358 --> 04:09.700 have been through some element 04:09.700 --> 04:13.020 of sexual assault or sexual violence in their lifetime. 04:13.020 --> 04:14.210 Think about that. 04:14.210 --> 04:17.560 I remember when I first arrived at the Air Force Academy 04:17.560 --> 04:18.590 and they would say things like, 04:18.590 --> 04:20.190 look to your left and look to your right, 04:20.190 --> 04:22.659 you know, one of you is not gonna be here at graduation. 04:22.659 --> 04:24.126 Well, here we are, 04:24.126 --> 04:26.270 in a large group of people in an auditorium. 04:26.270 --> 04:28.347 If you guys look to your left and look to your right 04:28.347 --> 04:31.760 one in three women here, probably, 04:31.760 --> 04:33.420 have actually been through this. 04:33.420 --> 04:35.140 And one in four men. 04:35.140 --> 04:37.474 That's a little uncomfortable to think about. 04:37.474 --> 04:38.940 Many of you probably have, 04:38.940 --> 04:41.760 maybe you haven't even talked about it to anybody. 04:41.760 --> 04:44.310 Whoever has, probably didn't report it most likely. 04:45.340 --> 04:48.383 This is a dynamic going on in our society. 04:48.383 --> 04:50.390 It's very prevalent. 04:50.390 --> 04:52.630 There's so many people that have been victims 04:52.630 --> 04:55.518 of sexual abuse and sexual assault in their lives. 04:55.518 --> 04:58.540 Sometimes they're able to completely heal and be whole, 04:58.540 --> 04:59.410 sometimes they're not. 04:59.410 --> 05:02.120 Sometimes it holds them back for the rest of their lives. 05:02.120 --> 05:04.660 Sometimes they cannot get out of the abyss 05:04.660 --> 05:06.590 from having suffered from those crimes. 05:06.590 --> 05:08.370 Sometimes people end up taking their own lives 05:08.370 --> 05:10.280 after suffering for years. 05:10.280 --> 05:11.690 It's all around us. 05:11.690 --> 05:14.390 And so I just thought, in many ways 05:14.390 --> 05:15.710 as I talk to people about this issue, 05:15.710 --> 05:18.130 sometimes people they have stereotypes 05:18.130 --> 05:19.823 as far as who's a survivor, who's been through this, 05:19.823 --> 05:21.470 what do they even look like? 05:21.470 --> 05:23.740 And so I felt like it was important for them to see 05:23.740 --> 05:26.170 someone like me has been through this. 05:26.170 --> 05:28.840 Because really it's hidden in plain sight, 05:28.840 --> 05:31.330 all around our military, all around our universities 05:31.330 --> 05:33.130 all around our society, all around our neighborhood, 05:33.130 --> 05:34.630 within our families. 05:34.630 --> 05:37.728 And so I felt like, you know maybe as a public figure 05:37.728 --> 05:41.344 and the opportunities that I've been given in my life. 05:41.344 --> 05:43.320 Maybe I can provide some hope. 05:43.320 --> 05:45.120 Maybe I can shine a little flashlight, 05:45.120 --> 05:47.480 to give some hope for people to get out of bed this morning. 05:47.480 --> 05:49.670 Who went through this maybe yesterday. 05:49.670 --> 05:51.550 Or maybe fifty years ago. 05:51.550 --> 05:54.320 And say, like you can heal. 05:54.320 --> 05:57.877 You can prevail, you can not be held back. 05:57.877 --> 06:00.230 You've already been robbed of so much. 06:00.230 --> 06:02.410 You know, don't let your perpetrator rob you of anymore. 06:02.410 --> 06:03.350 Don't let him rob you of today. 06:03.350 --> 06:05.630 Now that's easier said than done. 06:05.630 --> 06:07.196 And everybody goes through trauma. 06:07.196 --> 06:11.110 And deals with it in very different ways. 06:11.110 --> 06:12.190 Everybody's circumstances 06:12.190 --> 06:13.260 and everybody's journey is different. 06:13.260 --> 06:15.980 But I was really hoping to provide 06:15.980 --> 06:17.130 a little bit of hope for people. 06:17.130 --> 06:19.560 And also, you know, to have the credibility 06:19.560 --> 06:20.810 as a leader on this issue. 06:20.810 --> 06:24.160 You know, I didn't plan to do this. 06:24.160 --> 06:26.860 But I certainly didn't plan to be raped either. 06:26.860 --> 06:29.300 The day that I got up and that happened to me. 06:29.300 --> 06:32.590 And so, the good Lord is now giving me this opportunity 06:32.590 --> 06:34.733 to be a voice and to be a leader on this issue. 06:34.733 --> 06:38.210 I'm committed to leading on it. 06:38.210 --> 06:40.470 I'm committed to fixing it in the military 06:40.470 --> 06:42.140 our service chiefs and secretaries all know 06:42.140 --> 06:44.207 we're pedaling fast right now. 06:44.207 --> 06:46.452 And we're working really hard to see what else we can do 06:46.452 --> 06:48.010 in order to make a difference, 06:48.010 --> 06:49.740 in order to stop sexual assault, 06:49.740 --> 06:53.360 and improve the process once an assault is reported 06:53.360 --> 06:56.260 or once it happens and how it's reported. 06:56.260 --> 06:57.548 We got a lot of work to do. 06:57.548 --> 06:59.940 All of us together. 06:59.940 --> 07:03.450 And so, again I wanted to just provide some hope, 07:03.450 --> 07:04.420 provide some inspiration, 07:04.420 --> 07:07.360 and provide some leadership on this. 07:07.360 --> 07:09.346 I think, you know everybody has 07:09.346 --> 07:13.590 a different path that they take. 07:13.590 --> 07:14.960 After they've been through this. 07:14.960 --> 07:17.770 But if you think about when it comes specifically to 07:18.640 --> 07:22.585 universities and specifically to our military academies, 07:22.585 --> 07:27.585 America's mothers and fathers spend 18 years or so 07:28.307 --> 07:29.900 raising their kids, right? 07:29.900 --> 07:32.600 They spend 18 years, you know giving 'em everything 07:32.600 --> 07:33.433 that they hope that they need. 07:33.433 --> 07:37.320 And some kids are coming to universities and academies 07:37.320 --> 07:40.740 maybe not with the best background and upbringing, right? 07:40.740 --> 07:43.270 Maybe coming from broken circumstances, 07:43.270 --> 07:45.025 maybe doin' the best they can and being resilient 07:45.025 --> 07:49.036 and prevailing despite the situation that they're in at home 07:49.036 --> 07:52.150 but in many cases we've got America's mothers and fathers 07:52.150 --> 07:54.840 who are pouring everything in to makin' sure their kids 07:54.840 --> 07:58.020 have everything they need in order to succeed in life. 07:58.020 --> 08:00.480 In order to really be able to meet their full potential. 08:00.480 --> 08:02.390 And they try to equip 'em, you know, 08:02.390 --> 08:04.328 for being able to continue to learn and grow 08:04.328 --> 08:06.683 and be the best that they can be 08:06.683 --> 08:08.550 as they turn into adults. 08:08.550 --> 08:10.760 And think about it, every single year, 08:10.760 --> 08:12.630 you've got America's sons and daughters, 08:12.630 --> 08:14.420 or mothers and fathers, 08:14.420 --> 08:16.620 dropping off America's sons and daughters 08:16.620 --> 08:19.810 at your institutions, at your universities, 08:19.810 --> 08:21.510 at your military academies. 08:21.510 --> 08:24.410 In some case, it may be, you know 15 miles away, right? 08:24.410 --> 08:25.670 They may be in your hometown. 08:25.670 --> 08:27.690 Maybe like, okay you're going off to university, 08:27.690 --> 08:28.780 and it's close. 08:28.780 --> 08:31.760 And some cases, they're maybe driving across the country 08:31.760 --> 08:33.680 and dropping their kid off somewhere. 08:33.680 --> 08:35.460 You know, for me, I got on an airplane 08:35.460 --> 08:37.820 with some combat boots and bras. 08:37.820 --> 08:40.337 That's what they told us to do back then (laughs). 08:41.268 --> 08:42.850 I was in the ninth class with women 08:42.850 --> 08:44.560 at the Air Force Academy and they were like 08:44.560 --> 08:46.420 these are the only things we can't fit you very well in. 08:46.420 --> 08:47.909 But anyway... 08:47.909 --> 08:48.742 (audience laughing) 08:48.742 --> 08:50.930 But I think about it like it was yesterday. 08:50.930 --> 08:53.044 I mean just the, you know, I was a pretty 08:53.044 --> 08:55.770 independent kid, I was a pretty tough kid. 08:55.770 --> 08:57.540 But I had also shared publicly, 08:57.540 --> 08:59.940 you know, I lost my dad when I was 12 years old. 08:59.940 --> 09:01.680 I was the youngest of five kids. 09:01.680 --> 09:04.100 I was a naive, naive young kid. 09:04.100 --> 09:05.910 I grew up in very stable circumstances 09:05.910 --> 09:09.280 with a single mom with five kids, you know, 09:09.280 --> 09:10.550 and just looking to make a difference 09:10.550 --> 09:12.760 in my life after my dad passed 09:12.760 --> 09:16.270 and before he passed telling me to make him proud. 09:16.270 --> 09:18.306 Really difficult times after that for me, 09:18.306 --> 09:20.980 as a naive teenager I was then, 09:20.980 --> 09:22.060 actually before I went through 09:22.060 --> 09:22.893 what I went through in the military, 09:22.893 --> 09:25.650 I was preyed upon by a track coach. 09:25.650 --> 09:30.650 I had no idea what was going on as I experienced that. 09:30.749 --> 09:33.500 And part of the reason, part of the reason, 09:33.500 --> 09:34.840 not the only reason, but part of the reason 09:34.840 --> 09:36.560 I decided and ended up going to the Air Force Academy, 09:36.560 --> 09:38.457 you're makin' these decisions when you're 17 years old. 09:38.457 --> 09:40.420 Like, people ask all the time, 09:40.420 --> 09:41.293 why'd you go here versus there. 09:41.293 --> 09:44.012 You're 17, they're teenagers, right? 09:44.012 --> 09:47.620 So, for me you know part of the reason 09:47.620 --> 09:48.730 was I wanted a good education, 09:48.730 --> 09:51.990 part of the reason is I didn't wanna saddle my mom with debt 09:51.990 --> 09:53.429 and I though paying back in service 09:53.429 --> 09:55.590 would be a good way to do that, 09:55.590 --> 09:58.730 part of the reason is I wanted to channel my feistiness 09:58.730 --> 10:00.530 and a little bit of rebellious spirit 10:00.530 --> 10:02.854 into something purposeful and meaningful. 10:02.854 --> 10:05.627 Part of it was I was actually trying to get away from 10:05.627 --> 10:08.700 this, already being preyed upon in my life. 10:08.700 --> 10:11.113 Like get me outta here, I gotta get outta here. 10:11.113 --> 10:12.960 I just was resilient and survival instinct enough 10:12.960 --> 10:14.460 to be like, I gotta get outta here. 10:14.460 --> 10:17.620 For me, little did I know as I went off to military 10:17.620 --> 10:21.290 that I would have similar experiences there. 10:21.290 --> 10:22.634 But what I'm saying is every year 10:22.634 --> 10:24.930 America's mothers and fathers drop their kids off 10:24.930 --> 10:25.870 they're putting 'em on airplanes, 10:25.870 --> 10:27.770 there's a lot of stress, right? 10:27.770 --> 10:30.100 A lot of anxiety, a lot of anxiety by the parents. 10:30.100 --> 10:32.440 A lot of anxiety by the teenagers. 10:32.440 --> 10:33.538 I know they're adults. 10:33.538 --> 10:36.167 But they're teenagers (laughs). 10:37.350 --> 10:38.540 Right? 10:38.540 --> 10:41.163 And so we drop 'em off at universities 10:41.163 --> 10:45.770 and then we're like, okay, you know, hope it all works out. 10:45.770 --> 10:47.327 I mean it's a really stressful time. 10:47.327 --> 10:49.610 And America's mothers and fathers 10:49.610 --> 10:52.160 they're entrusting their sons and daughters to you. 10:54.020 --> 10:57.295 And so the worst nightmare for those parents 10:57.295 --> 10:59.183 is to get that phone call. 11:01.240 --> 11:02.890 From their child. 11:02.890 --> 11:04.943 Saying I was raped last night. 11:06.820 --> 11:08.760 I mean, can you even imagine? 11:08.760 --> 11:12.840 I mean the fear and the anxiety of even letting your kid go 11:12.840 --> 11:15.600 and the fear of that potentially happening 11:15.600 --> 11:17.546 sometimes as people say like, I'm not gonna let you go. 11:17.546 --> 11:19.340 You can't put a bubble around people, 11:19.340 --> 11:20.700 you've gotta be able to let 'em go. 11:20.700 --> 11:22.720 But it's your responsibility 11:22.720 --> 11:25.181 to make sure that doesn't happen. 11:25.181 --> 11:28.380 It's your responsibility as you're coming here today 11:28.380 --> 11:30.430 and everything you do when you leave here 11:31.620 --> 11:32.790 to make sure that doesn't happen. 11:32.790 --> 11:34.150 Tomorrow's Friday night. 11:34.150 --> 11:36.190 It's your responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen 11:36.190 --> 11:37.943 at your university this weekend. 11:38.800 --> 11:40.360 And I know you're gonna spend a lot of time 11:40.360 --> 11:42.380 talking about data and sharing data 11:42.380 --> 11:44.080 and there's all sorts of things that are important 11:44.080 --> 11:45.800 you're gonna be doing your break out sessions. 11:45.800 --> 11:47.641 But I hope you can put a human face 11:47.641 --> 11:51.950 on what your mission is here today and going forward. 11:51.950 --> 11:53.920 And it's to do everything you can, 11:53.920 --> 11:56.380 on any, every single day, 11:56.380 --> 12:00.650 to make sure that there isn't another young man 12:00.650 --> 12:05.090 or young woman who has a sexual assault happen to them 12:05.090 --> 12:07.780 at your university, at your military academy. 12:07.780 --> 12:08.883 Not on your watch. 12:10.710 --> 12:12.670 To make sure you have the climate and the culture 12:12.670 --> 12:14.690 that they're gonna thrive and succeed. 12:14.690 --> 12:16.160 Look, I'm not a sociologist, 12:16.160 --> 12:17.480 I don't have a Ph.D. in this stuff, 12:17.480 --> 12:19.500 I just have a Ph.D. in my own life. 12:19.500 --> 12:23.670 And just my own, my own like reflecting on some things. 12:23.670 --> 12:26.058 So it's not based on studies or data, 12:26.058 --> 12:28.410 but like we, you know, we send off 12:28.410 --> 12:30.954 they're 18, 19, 20, 21, some stay a little longer (laughs). 12:30.954 --> 12:32.770 Right? 12:32.770 --> 12:35.010 But this is the formative years of their life 12:35.010 --> 12:36.450 and we just like throw 'em into this 12:36.450 --> 12:38.730 kinda very stressful transition 12:38.730 --> 12:39.563 and then here you all go 12:39.563 --> 12:41.210 and no you're all just here and you're all living together 12:41.210 --> 12:42.960 and then you know you throw alcohol into the mix 12:42.960 --> 12:45.140 and culture and all that goes on there. 12:45.140 --> 12:47.775 And if you got a predator in the midst there, 12:47.775 --> 12:50.970 they're gonna sniff out, this is a vulnerable time. 12:50.970 --> 12:54.460 People wanna fit in, people wanna do what's cool. 12:54.460 --> 12:55.890 That ends up having people maybe 12:55.890 --> 12:57.360 in more vulnerable circumstances 12:57.360 --> 12:59.380 then they're even aware of. 12:59.380 --> 13:00.930 And that also allows predators 13:00.930 --> 13:05.610 to kinda sniff out their prey, right? 13:05.610 --> 13:10.610 It also allows bystanders to just sit there and do nothing 13:10.690 --> 13:13.750 because they wanna be cool, and they wanna fit in, 13:13.750 --> 13:15.340 they wanna be a part of the culture, right? 13:15.340 --> 13:17.030 So what kinda culture is there? 13:17.030 --> 13:18.690 What kind of environment do we have there? 13:18.690 --> 13:22.361 You know, what is it that we can do in order to intervene. 13:22.361 --> 13:27.137 Whenever we have a mishap, a flying mishap, 13:27.137 --> 13:30.030 in the Air Force and across the services 13:30.030 --> 13:32.180 we always talk about the safety chain of events. 13:32.180 --> 13:35.250 It's not just one thing that ended up with a mishap. 13:35.250 --> 13:37.100 It was like a chain of things that happened. 13:37.100 --> 13:39.962 And if you stopped any one of 'em, 13:39.962 --> 13:42.150 then the mishap doesn't happen. 13:42.150 --> 13:46.370 And you're not handing a flag to a family member. 13:46.370 --> 13:48.920 Because their airmen didn't come home. 13:48.920 --> 13:50.830 So what is it in the safety chain of events, 13:50.830 --> 13:52.460 what is it in the sexual assault chain of events, 13:52.460 --> 13:54.550 starting with culture, starting with environment, 13:54.550 --> 13:55.990 starting with education, starting with... 13:55.990 --> 13:58.730 I don't, you guys are here to figure it out, right? 13:58.730 --> 14:00.600 That's gonna stop this from happening, 14:00.600 --> 14:02.800 that's gonna allow other students 14:02.800 --> 14:04.763 to have the courage to step in. 14:05.770 --> 14:07.820 The courage to step in and say that's not happening 14:07.820 --> 14:10.880 not to my friend, not to my teammate, 14:10.880 --> 14:13.380 not to my shipmate, my fellow, it's not happenin'. 14:14.710 --> 14:16.500 'Cause there are amazing men and women 14:16.500 --> 14:17.647 that show up at your universities 14:17.647 --> 14:19.420 and your military academies, right? 14:19.420 --> 14:20.920 They're filled with promise. 14:20.920 --> 14:22.040 They're filled with excellence. 14:22.040 --> 14:24.297 They're the best and brightest. 14:24.297 --> 14:28.003 But somehow you guys gotta figure out how to stop the cycle. 14:29.303 --> 14:31.510 You know in the universities, 14:31.510 --> 14:33.140 again all the studies are different, 14:33.140 --> 14:35.580 but you know I've seen some numbers 14:35.580 --> 14:38.190 it's, like I said, one in three women in their lifetime, 14:38.190 --> 14:39.920 one in four men over all. 14:39.920 --> 14:42.390 But in universities it's, college years, 14:42.390 --> 14:46.833 like 20 to 25% of women and 15% of men. 14:48.500 --> 14:50.990 So this is real. 14:50.990 --> 14:53.287 So what can you do on your watch? 14:53.287 --> 14:55.010 What can you do here? 14:55.010 --> 14:56.860 What can you do when you leave here? 14:56.860 --> 14:59.410 In order to stop this from happenin'. 14:59.410 --> 15:00.800 I don't know the answers. 15:00.800 --> 15:02.622 I know I'm here to help. 15:02.622 --> 15:04.500 I know I'm here to partner with you. 15:04.500 --> 15:06.080 I know I'm partnering with these guys 15:06.080 --> 15:08.517 more than they ever wanted or expected (laughs). 15:10.495 --> 15:14.850 But I think we've gotta be inspired 15:14.850 --> 15:16.670 by those who have been through this. 15:16.670 --> 15:20.820 We've gotta not be ignorant on how prevalent it is. 15:20.820 --> 15:22.000 Okay? 15:22.000 --> 15:23.550 And we gotta have kinda a call to duty 15:23.550 --> 15:27.430 and a call to action about what we're gonna do to mix it up. 15:27.430 --> 15:29.060 To change it, to stop it. 15:29.060 --> 15:32.670 And when it happens, what are you gonna do 15:32.670 --> 15:33.940 to provide a safe environment 15:33.940 --> 15:35.110 so people can get the care they need? 15:35.110 --> 15:36.070 What are you gonna do to make sure 15:36.070 --> 15:37.520 that you don't have, you know, 15:37.520 --> 15:40.900 junior varsity investigations and kangaroo courts. 15:40.900 --> 15:42.620 There's this whole element of once an event happens 15:42.620 --> 15:45.090 what are you gonna do with it after it happens? 15:45.090 --> 15:46.550 That you all gotta work on. 15:46.550 --> 15:49.510 Like the military's had a wake up call 15:49.510 --> 15:50.500 over the last several years 15:50.500 --> 15:54.250 and really has been digging into this a lot. 15:54.250 --> 15:55.220 But we still have more to do. 15:55.220 --> 15:58.040 The status quo is not acceptable for sure. 15:58.040 --> 15:59.690 Many of you can learn from them. 15:59.690 --> 16:00.722 Absolutely. 16:00.722 --> 16:04.970 We pull people at the military, obviously from society 16:04.970 --> 16:07.180 so if there's dynamic going on in the society 16:07.180 --> 16:08.330 we're bringing those people in 16:08.330 --> 16:10.530 every single year to be in the military. 16:10.530 --> 16:12.570 But we expect the military to be better, right? 16:12.570 --> 16:15.840 We expect the military to have the code of conduct 16:15.840 --> 16:17.640 and the standards that we have of honor 16:17.640 --> 16:20.287 and core values across the services. 16:20.287 --> 16:22.770 We also have some unique... 16:24.690 --> 16:26.000 Environment's in the military. 16:26.000 --> 16:27.640 Now some of this is at universities too. 16:27.640 --> 16:31.640 There's an opportunity for people to abuse their power 16:31.640 --> 16:33.790 over people at universities for sure. 16:33.790 --> 16:37.130 Whether it's a coach, or a professor, 16:37.130 --> 16:40.390 or someone who's in a perceived position of power. 16:40.390 --> 16:43.100 For sure these dynamics can happen at a university. 16:43.100 --> 16:45.489 It doesn't matter that the students are adults. 16:45.489 --> 16:48.642 If there's a power abuse that then turns into sexual assault 16:48.642 --> 16:50.420 that's gotta be addressed. 16:50.420 --> 16:52.300 But there's also, I've thought a lot about this, 16:52.300 --> 16:55.410 and this is more to my military teammates here. 16:55.410 --> 16:56.630 You know about the military academies, 16:56.630 --> 16:59.110 again I, you know I've been to the academy. 16:59.110 --> 17:01.980 I know things have, are not now the way they were 17:01.980 --> 17:03.640 back in 1984 to 1988. 17:03.640 --> 17:05.100 So I'm not gonna be one of those people 17:05.100 --> 17:08.400 that's just stuck there and thinking about that. 17:08.400 --> 17:10.250 But I mean, I think you guys, 17:10.250 --> 17:12.500 we all gotta think outside the box here. 17:12.500 --> 17:13.550 We gotta think outside the box 17:13.550 --> 17:15.110 about what can we do differently 17:15.110 --> 17:17.299 to not have an environment that's kinda a Petri dish 17:17.299 --> 17:21.650 that can be ripe for these types of things that happen. 17:21.650 --> 17:23.140 And for the military academies, 17:23.140 --> 17:24.507 again, I'm probably gonna get in trouble for this 17:24.507 --> 17:26.750 but I'mma be a little edgy here for a second 17:26.750 --> 17:28.940 'cause it's just the way I am. 17:28.940 --> 17:30.850 'Cause I've thought a lot about this 17:30.850 --> 17:32.920 over the course of my time in the military 17:32.920 --> 17:34.650 and moving forward. 17:34.650 --> 17:36.798 I mean these people show up as teenagers, right? 17:36.798 --> 17:40.030 We call the academies leadership laboratories. 17:40.030 --> 17:41.300 Which, by the way, never understood that. 17:41.300 --> 17:44.500 'Cause like, why are we experimenting on people, right? 17:44.500 --> 17:47.570 We don't need laboratories to experiment that. 17:47.570 --> 17:48.998 We've had the model since, 17:48.998 --> 17:50.640 when was Annapolis established? 17:50.640 --> 17:52.750 Like 1875 or something? 17:52.750 --> 17:57.726 Oh sorry, 1845 and West Point was like 1802, of course. 17:57.726 --> 18:00.260 So yeah, we're the whippersnappers 18:00.260 --> 18:03.070 right, of the Air Force Academy, back in the 50's. 18:03.070 --> 18:04.930 But we've always had this model 18:04.930 --> 18:06.950 of like, it's a leadership laboratory, right? 18:06.950 --> 18:08.549 And then what we do is, 18:08.549 --> 18:11.660 we put these teenagers in a pressure cooker 18:11.660 --> 18:12.930 and we crank up the pressure, right? 18:12.930 --> 18:14.210 We put 'em under like a lot of pressure. 18:14.210 --> 18:16.320 We kinda break 'em down to build 'em back up. 18:16.320 --> 18:17.750 Puttin' 'em through basic training 18:17.750 --> 18:20.250 and then we make 'em do a bunch of funny things as freshman 18:20.250 --> 18:22.520 and, you know, their plebe year or doolie 18:22.520 --> 18:23.840 or whatever you wanna call it. 18:23.840 --> 18:26.340 We put 'em in a situation that's just like university 18:26.340 --> 18:27.650 but is even more... 18:29.910 --> 18:31.180 Bizarre, no I'm just kidding. 18:31.180 --> 18:32.250 I can't even think of the word. 18:32.250 --> 18:34.280 You crank up the pressure, right? 18:34.280 --> 18:36.500 You then create an environment 18:36.500 --> 18:38.160 where you do what you're told. 18:38.160 --> 18:40.160 Because we have this, in the military, this covenant. 18:40.160 --> 18:42.250 This superior subordinate covenant. 18:42.250 --> 18:44.530 That we're training people to send men and women into battle 18:44.530 --> 18:46.010 to put their life on the line, 18:46.010 --> 18:48.090 to take others life, like this is really serious 18:48.090 --> 18:50.620 so you gotta like, you know, drop and do your pushups 18:50.620 --> 18:52.920 and shut up and march over here. 18:52.920 --> 18:54.430 And you know all this sort of discipline 18:54.430 --> 18:55.466 that we instill in them, 18:55.466 --> 18:57.506 that's really important for the military. 18:57.506 --> 19:01.540 But then we put 19 year olds in charge of 18 year olds 19:01.540 --> 19:04.110 and then we like, the adults leave for the weekend 19:04.110 --> 19:06.023 and it's like The Lord of the Flies. 19:09.160 --> 19:10.180 Right? 19:10.180 --> 19:12.500 I mean this is just me talking, you know. 19:12.500 --> 19:13.540 Maybe it's gotten better. 19:13.540 --> 19:15.520 But I never understood that. 19:15.520 --> 19:16.830 Like no one in their right mind would put 19:16.830 --> 19:19.460 19 year olds in charge of 18 year olds. 19:19.460 --> 19:20.293 (laughs) 19:20.293 --> 19:21.126 Right? 19:21.126 --> 19:23.010 Or even 21 year olds. 19:23.010 --> 19:25.180 A lot of 'em come out of there and they're like, 19:25.180 --> 19:28.098 you know, they were like cadet wing commander, 19:28.098 --> 19:29.612 you know I was the cadet wing commander 19:29.612 --> 19:31.010 I was in charge of 4,000 cadets 19:31.010 --> 19:32.900 and then I meet some of them and they're like 19:32.900 --> 19:37.110 well can you tell me how being a good squadron commander is? 19:37.110 --> 19:39.280 And I'm like, you don't need to be a squadron commander, 19:39.280 --> 19:41.210 you need to be a lieutenant. 19:41.210 --> 19:43.100 You need to learn how to be a lieutenant. 19:43.100 --> 19:45.180 You know, you may have been a cadet wing commander 19:45.180 --> 19:46.893 but now you're a freaking lieutenant. 19:46.893 --> 19:49.860 So, and by the way, like 90% of you 19:49.860 --> 19:51.550 aren't even gonna make it squadron command. 19:51.550 --> 19:53.300 You're gonna be outta the military by then. 19:53.300 --> 19:54.640 And you're not gonna compete. 19:54.640 --> 19:57.080 So why don't we train 'em how to be really good lieutenants? 19:57.080 --> 19:58.510 Not colonels. 19:58.510 --> 20:00.563 Like, I mean, can I just be real here? 20:02.040 --> 20:03.970 So I mean, maybe it's not the same. 20:03.970 --> 20:05.420 But I think it kinda is. 20:05.420 --> 20:08.660 Why are we putting 19 year olds in charge of 18 year olds? 20:08.660 --> 20:10.100 Why aren't we letting, you know, 20:10.100 --> 20:13.120 our officers and our senior NCO's be the ones in charge? 20:13.120 --> 20:14.500 You know, and they need to just learn 20:14.500 --> 20:15.890 how to be good lieutenants. 20:15.890 --> 20:18.100 I'm just throwing this out there. 20:18.100 --> 20:19.650 I'm not telling you what to do. 20:21.440 --> 20:23.200 I'm just sayin', you know we saw, 20:23.200 --> 20:25.350 I nominate people to the academies, right? 20:25.350 --> 20:28.130 Like we go through a very rigorous process 20:28.130 --> 20:30.330 and we're trying to send the very best and brightest. 20:30.330 --> 20:32.702 You know, off to be our future military leaders 20:32.702 --> 20:34.060 through the academies, 20:34.060 --> 20:36.180 which is an amazing privilege and honor. 20:36.180 --> 20:39.220 But I don't, I mean again, get a sociologist in, 20:39.220 --> 20:40.053 have them study it. 20:40.053 --> 20:40.886 I don't know what happens. 20:40.886 --> 20:43.010 I just know in my experience 20:43.010 --> 20:46.575 you have 18 year old graduated from high school 20:46.575 --> 20:50.870 they're boys, they have no problem with an older sister 20:50.870 --> 20:53.994 telling 'em what to do or a class president who was a female 20:53.994 --> 20:56.910 or somebody who was a valedictorian and they beat them. 20:56.910 --> 20:59.530 But in some weird way, after we kinda inculcate them 20:59.530 --> 21:00.710 through our training, 21:00.710 --> 21:02.240 somehow there ends up being like a resentment 21:02.240 --> 21:04.050 and a bad attitude, you know, towards the women. 21:04.050 --> 21:05.130 And I don't understand it. 21:05.130 --> 21:06.160 I don't know where it comes from. 21:06.160 --> 21:07.600 I don't think it's on purpose. 21:07.600 --> 21:10.180 But somehow there's like this weird dynamic that happens 21:10.180 --> 21:13.260 where you end up being like the other, right? 21:13.260 --> 21:14.440 'Cause we're a smaller group 21:14.440 --> 21:16.526 and I don't understand what happens. 21:16.526 --> 21:18.985 But when you're putting people in that environment, 21:18.985 --> 21:21.260 from my view, I just, you know, 21:21.260 --> 21:23.659 forget about for a second sexual assault, 21:23.659 --> 21:25.710 putting 19 year olds in charge of 18 year olds 21:25.710 --> 21:26.543 is not a good idea. 21:26.543 --> 21:28.250 Putting 21 year olds in charge of 18 year olds 21:28.250 --> 21:29.380 and tellin' 'em you better do what I told, 21:29.380 --> 21:30.750 it's not a good idea. 21:30.750 --> 21:31.950 It's just not. 21:31.950 --> 21:33.047 So there, there's my charge to you guys 21:33.047 --> 21:34.780 who're in charge of the academies. 21:34.780 --> 21:36.100 Like, why don't, like we've been doing it 21:36.100 --> 21:37.010 but this is the way we've done, 21:37.010 --> 21:38.960 we've been doin' it since 18 when? 21:38.960 --> 21:40.400 18 what? 21:40.400 --> 21:41.960 This is the way we do it, how dare you? 21:41.960 --> 21:43.140 I'm gonna get a bunch of hate mail now. 21:43.140 --> 21:45.860 Like how dare you from all the academy grads. 21:45.860 --> 21:47.562 How dare you change what we do? 21:47.562 --> 21:48.750 I'm not saying change what you do, 21:48.750 --> 21:49.940 I'm just saying take a look at it. 21:49.940 --> 21:50.860 Just take a look at it. 21:50.860 --> 21:52.643 Like just because we always do it this way, 21:52.643 --> 21:55.060 you know, why do we gotta keep doin' it that way? 21:55.060 --> 21:58.224 Like maybe we gotta do something different. 21:58.224 --> 21:59.730 Maybe we gotta, you know, 21:59.730 --> 22:03.120 and the environment that could allow abuse of power 22:03.120 --> 22:05.080 that doesn't just come in sexual assault 22:05.080 --> 22:06.810 there's all sorts of other abuse of power 22:06.810 --> 22:07.990 that's not sexual assault, right? 22:07.990 --> 22:10.300 Sexual assault is just one element and one crime 22:10.300 --> 22:11.304 related to that. 22:11.304 --> 22:13.260 Alright, I didn't mean to go off on this tangent. 22:13.260 --> 22:14.440 My team is gonna make fun of me. 22:14.440 --> 22:17.920 But I'm just saying, 22:17.920 --> 22:19.623 my charge to you is this. 22:21.030 --> 22:22.730 There's survivors in plain sight. 22:22.730 --> 22:24.170 They're among you in this room, 22:24.170 --> 22:26.560 whether you've told anyone or not. 22:26.560 --> 22:29.950 Many people have come to me since I've shared my testimony 22:29.950 --> 22:32.180 that it happened to them or it happened to their kid 22:32.180 --> 22:33.680 or it happened to their loved one. 22:33.680 --> 22:35.444 There's something about breaking that seal. 22:35.444 --> 22:37.470 What I've also seen is, 22:37.470 --> 22:39.283 again I've had people ask me, like, 22:39.283 --> 22:42.210 how could this have possibly happened to you? 22:42.210 --> 22:44.620 I've had some media people ask me this. 22:44.620 --> 22:49.120 Like here you are this strong fighter pilot, triathlete, 22:49.120 --> 22:50.180 how could this happen to you? 22:50.180 --> 22:51.740 And my an, then I'm just like 22:51.740 --> 22:53.240 oh my God you guys are so ignorant. 22:53.240 --> 22:56.540 I don't mean that in a mean way. 22:56.540 --> 22:58.650 But it just goes into the ignorance of like, 22:58.650 --> 23:02.590 I didn't come outta the freaking womb as a fighter pilot. 23:02.590 --> 23:04.713 Like that's not how I started. 23:05.620 --> 23:09.087 Like these were part of my formative experiences 23:09.087 --> 23:11.360 that by the grace of God 23:11.360 --> 23:14.067 I was able to survive and get through 23:14.067 --> 23:16.670 and for me, I can just speak for myself, 23:16.670 --> 23:19.435 it was actually a part of what strengthened me 23:19.435 --> 23:22.626 and gave me more resolve to fight for others. 23:22.626 --> 23:25.680 It's by the grace of God I didn't fall into the abyss. 23:25.680 --> 23:26.520 It didn't crush me. 23:26.520 --> 23:27.600 It almost did. 23:27.600 --> 23:31.310 But by the grace of God, it actually deepened my resolve 23:31.310 --> 23:33.160 to fight for others, to fight for women and girls, 23:33.160 --> 23:34.290 to fight for the vulnerable, 23:34.290 --> 23:36.190 to stop these things from happening. 23:36.190 --> 23:38.250 And I was able to be propelled on a path 23:38.250 --> 23:40.340 that actually turned it into a purpose, 23:40.340 --> 23:41.650 not into something that held me back. 23:41.650 --> 23:43.527 Something that actually, 23:43.527 --> 23:46.493 actually refined my purpose in life. 23:46.493 --> 23:50.639 As, you know, the book of Joseph talks about. 23:50.639 --> 23:53.322 Not in the book of Joseph, but the story of Joseph. 23:53.322 --> 23:55.227 If you don't know anything about that 23:55.227 --> 23:56.270 you can Google it tonight. 23:56.270 --> 23:57.587 But in the Old Testament where he says, 23:57.587 --> 24:00.070 "What others intended for evil, God used it for good." 24:00.070 --> 24:01.210 I'm not preaching to ya here. 24:01.210 --> 24:03.721 I'm just saying by the grace of God, that's been my path. 24:03.721 --> 24:05.910 But that's not everybody's path. 24:05.910 --> 24:07.530 We've got a lot of people that are held back 24:07.530 --> 24:10.240 and all their promise and all their potential 24:10.240 --> 24:12.380 and everything that they had when they were dropped off 24:12.380 --> 24:17.380 at your universities or your academies, it's snuffed out. 24:18.980 --> 24:20.780 Because of this issue. 24:20.780 --> 24:24.367 So as you're tackling the issue, open up your eyes, 24:24.367 --> 24:26.735 have conversations with people around you. 24:26.735 --> 24:29.140 'Cause many of you have probably been through this too. 24:29.140 --> 24:32.720 Let's be honest about it, and let's figure out, 24:32.720 --> 24:33.930 don't just do incremental stuff. 24:33.930 --> 24:36.330 Let's figure out how to maybe do something really different. 24:36.330 --> 24:38.430 Let's figure out how to do something that's 24:38.430 --> 24:40.270 gonna be really meaningful to change the environment, 24:40.270 --> 24:41.500 to change the culture. 24:41.500 --> 24:43.701 And let's not just look at this bureaucratically 24:43.701 --> 24:46.330 in a policy wonky sort of way. 24:46.330 --> 24:50.060 Let's look at it in a way of like tomorrow's Friday night. 24:50.060 --> 24:52.900 It's not gonna happen tomorrow night. 24:52.900 --> 24:54.040 We're gonna stop it from happening. 24:54.040 --> 24:55.690 Not one more face, not one more victim, 24:55.690 --> 24:58.830 not one more person is gonna be impacted by this. 24:58.830 --> 25:00.980 So have that level of call to action, 25:00.980 --> 25:03.370 that level of commitment, resolve, and leadership. 25:03.370 --> 25:05.650 As you know, the challenge is that you're all here 25:05.650 --> 25:07.823 but there's a lot of people who are not here. 25:07.823 --> 25:08.840 So that's the other piece. 25:08.840 --> 25:10.310 Thank you for being here. 25:10.310 --> 25:11.920 Thank you for your commitment to this. 25:11.920 --> 25:14.800 But of the universities that are present here 25:14.800 --> 25:17.090 it's about 10% of who were invited. 25:17.090 --> 25:18.980 So what else can we all do together 25:18.980 --> 25:20.850 in order to have this be a larger conversation 25:20.850 --> 25:23.730 so every university, every military academy, 25:23.730 --> 25:24.630 every military base, 25:24.630 --> 25:26.210 this is something that we as a society 25:26.210 --> 25:28.160 are committed to stopping from happening. 25:28.160 --> 25:28.993 Thank you for your time. 25:28.993 --> 25:30.950 I'm happy to answer any questions you have now 25:30.950 --> 25:32.360 and I'm really honored to be with you today 25:32.360 --> 25:33.454 to share my heart. 25:33.454 --> 25:36.454 (audience clapping) 25:42.743 --> 25:43.576 Yes ma'am. 25:43.576 --> 25:46.020 - Senator McSally, thank you so much 25:46.020 --> 25:48.340 for your leadership on this, I really appreciate it. 25:48.340 --> 25:50.084 I watched your testimony the other day 25:50.084 --> 25:53.400 and I know you said you wanted to inspire people, 25:53.400 --> 25:55.345 so you got one, so I just wanna give you that. 25:55.345 --> 25:56.178 - [Martha] Thank you. 25:56.178 --> 25:57.460 - My question is really about the role 25:57.460 --> 25:58.440 of the commanding officer. 25:58.440 --> 26:00.320 So I didn't introduce myself, Shannon Norberg, 26:00.320 --> 26:02.130 I'm the sexual assault response coordinator 26:02.130 --> 26:05.211 at the US Coast Guard Academy, so I'm here on the ground. 26:05.211 --> 26:07.450 I'm here receiving the reports. 26:07.450 --> 26:08.620 And one of the things I'm doin' 26:08.620 --> 26:10.370 is working with the commanding officers. 26:10.370 --> 26:13.390 So I was wondering if you could speak to that a little bit. 26:13.390 --> 26:16.080 Like you, I believe commanding officers 26:16.080 --> 26:18.770 have a crucial role in turning this around. 26:18.770 --> 26:20.720 I need them to buy into this. 26:20.720 --> 26:22.730 I need them to be a part of this 26:22.730 --> 26:24.700 if we're really gonna turn this around. 26:24.700 --> 26:29.370 So, I believe most CO's really do wanna get this right. 26:29.370 --> 26:30.980 And I know that there's legislation out there 26:30.980 --> 26:34.280 trying to pull the power of that away from them. 26:34.280 --> 26:36.040 So my question to you is there really, 26:36.040 --> 26:38.590 is there anybody talking about maybe what we could do 26:38.590 --> 26:41.100 to prop them up and to help them get this right 26:41.100 --> 26:42.530 'cause they wanna get this right. 26:42.530 --> 26:44.045 - Did they plant you as a question? 26:44.045 --> 26:45.270 (Shannon laughing) 26:45.270 --> 26:46.840 No first of all thank you, 26:46.840 --> 26:48.700 and thanks for what you do every single day. 26:48.700 --> 26:52.580 And as you said, I strongly believe, 26:52.580 --> 26:55.190 and this is not an easy position for me to take 26:55.190 --> 26:56.870 and it didn't happen lightly, 26:56.870 --> 26:59.030 but I strongly believe that the commanders 26:59.030 --> 27:01.130 need to hold full responsibility for this issue. 27:01.130 --> 27:03.270 And that includes the culture and the prevention 27:03.270 --> 27:05.270 and the response and the care and the support 27:05.270 --> 27:06.370 and the judicial decisions. 27:06.370 --> 27:07.490 I strongly believe that. 27:07.490 --> 27:10.680 And people in civilian society 27:10.680 --> 27:12.510 sometimes don't understand that, 27:12.510 --> 27:16.420 and as we try to describe, this is not like anything else. 27:16.420 --> 27:17.480 The military's not like anything else. 27:17.480 --> 27:21.950 It's not like your supervisor at a private sector industry. 27:21.950 --> 27:24.650 It's, the commander is responsible for the lives 27:24.650 --> 27:26.200 of the men and women under their command. 27:26.200 --> 27:27.649 They're responsible for training them 27:27.649 --> 27:29.540 to go to combat and maybe take lives. 27:29.540 --> 27:31.020 They're responsible for them 27:31.020 --> 27:33.200 maybe giving the ultimate sacrifice and those decisions. 27:33.200 --> 27:34.630 The commander's responsible for everything. ' 27:34.630 --> 27:36.550 The good order and discipline of that unit 27:36.550 --> 27:38.160 really starts that culture 27:38.160 --> 27:39.710 and all that starts with the commander, right? 27:39.710 --> 27:42.610 To make sure that that team is one 27:42.610 --> 27:44.490 that has honor, respect, and core values 27:44.490 --> 27:45.560 and people are not committing 27:45.560 --> 27:47.850 blue on blue crimes on each other like that. 27:47.850 --> 27:49.210 And so if you wanna fix something, 27:49.210 --> 27:51.010 the commander has to be more responsible, 27:51.010 --> 27:52.670 not less responsible. 27:52.670 --> 27:54.200 There's plenty of commander's out there 27:54.200 --> 27:56.450 that would like to outsource this. 27:56.450 --> 27:58.507 We don't need them being commanders by the way. 27:58.507 --> 28:02.108 We need, but we need commanders equipped. 28:02.108 --> 28:05.360 And a lot of them, again, well intended really good people 28:05.360 --> 28:10.360 are ignorant on the topic, except for some of the training 28:10.390 --> 28:11.570 that they get in the military. 28:11.570 --> 28:12.780 I've been meeting with commanders, 28:12.780 --> 28:14.540 I've been meeting, I went to Luke Air Force Base, 28:14.540 --> 28:16.010 I'm going to all the bases in Arizona, 28:16.010 --> 28:18.831 we'll be goin' on some other trips to meet with commanders. 28:18.831 --> 28:21.410 We've got some ideas on what we can do to better 28:21.410 --> 28:23.450 equip and inform the commander. 28:23.450 --> 28:26.210 We're working on, I asked the DOD 28:26.210 --> 28:27.660 to basically set up a task force. 28:27.660 --> 28:29.270 All the service secretaries and chiefs 28:29.270 --> 28:31.480 have been extremely responsive on this 28:31.480 --> 28:33.384 and I'm really grateful for all the support. 28:33.384 --> 28:36.250 For a very short time line, 28:36.250 --> 28:38.620 we gotta think outside the box and be innovative 28:38.620 --> 28:41.386 about what else we can do to equip the commanders, 28:41.386 --> 28:45.520 to help the commanders, and to do what we can 28:45.520 --> 28:49.180 to improve from the time an assault happens moving forward. 28:49.180 --> 28:51.740 What else can we do to improve post-assault 28:51.740 --> 28:54.430 victim care, investigation, judicial response. 28:54.430 --> 28:55.300 So we're working on that. 28:55.300 --> 28:56.920 We got about a month or so 28:56.920 --> 28:59.330 before we're gonna actually produce something. 28:59.330 --> 29:01.990 Their task force working very closely with me. 29:01.990 --> 29:03.733 So that by the time we mark up the defense bill, 29:03.733 --> 29:05.940 we're not just against something, 29:05.940 --> 29:07.410 we're actually for something. 29:07.410 --> 29:09.140 Because the status quo is not an option, 29:09.140 --> 29:12.120 but I strongly believe the legislation 29:12.120 --> 29:17.120 is to strip the commander of all felony responsibility. 29:17.380 --> 29:19.060 I just, I'm really against that. 29:19.060 --> 29:21.440 But as I'm talking to my colleagues on the Hill, 29:21.440 --> 29:22.470 on both sides of the aisle, 29:22.470 --> 29:23.993 they wanna address this issue. 29:24.880 --> 29:27.220 And they know something else needs to be done, 29:27.220 --> 29:29.180 more needs to be done, a lot has been done. 29:29.180 --> 29:30.990 And so we're really working hard 29:30.990 --> 29:33.130 and we're pedaling fast and I really appreciate 29:33.130 --> 29:35.320 all the hard work of everybody who's been a part of that. 29:35.320 --> 29:37.461 If you got some input, we'd love to hear it. 29:37.461 --> 29:39.470 So, you know, we'll figure out 29:39.470 --> 29:40.780 how to get that directly from you. 29:40.780 --> 29:42.350 But we definitely wanna make sure 29:42.350 --> 29:46.950 that we strengthen the process and strengthen the system 29:46.950 --> 29:48.930 so that commanders can stay involved. 29:48.930 --> 29:50.200 And we can be effective. 29:50.200 --> 29:51.200 - [Shannon] Thank you. 29:51.200 --> 29:52.131 - Yes ma'am. 29:52.131 --> 29:54.055 - Thank you Senator McSally. 29:54.055 --> 29:57.470 My name is Jill Thomas, I'm from Stanford University. 29:57.470 --> 30:01.100 Former active duty JAG, current reserve JAG. 30:01.100 --> 30:02.300 I'm the Title IX Coordinator 30:02.300 --> 30:04.030 and Director of equity investigations. 30:04.030 --> 30:06.120 Formerly stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. 30:06.120 --> 30:07.600 - [Martha] Alright, go DM. 30:07.600 --> 30:08.560 - Oh yes, indeed. 30:08.560 --> 30:11.677 I'm the prevention piece, even though Title IX 30:11.677 --> 30:15.310 is on the sort of execution of policy piece 30:15.310 --> 30:20.310 and then the JAG court was a response type of position. 30:21.470 --> 30:23.540 I work with my colleagues at Stanford 30:23.540 --> 30:27.130 to try to work on the prevention piece. 30:27.130 --> 30:29.230 Because it's critical and it really is, 30:29.230 --> 30:31.280 when I was a former federal JAG prosecutor, 30:31.280 --> 30:32.910 you think about supply and demand. 30:32.910 --> 30:35.677 Yeah, I could put away a cartel member for 25 years. 30:35.677 --> 30:38.860 But he was working on the demand side. 30:38.860 --> 30:41.420 So I see this conceptually similarly. 30:41.420 --> 30:43.650 So my question is, with that backdrop, 30:43.650 --> 30:46.473 is has it percolated to the top, or your level, 30:49.230 --> 30:54.230 about a conversation about a paradigmatic and cultural shift 30:54.270 --> 30:56.390 regarding sexually healthy relationships 30:56.390 --> 30:59.560 that we can have among and between our young adults. 30:59.560 --> 31:00.610 That's what we do at Stanford, 31:00.610 --> 31:02.457 we have a program called Beyond Sex Ed. 31:02.457 --> 31:05.580 And anecdotally it looks like it's really working. 31:05.580 --> 31:08.400 And I'm just wondering, has this, 31:08.400 --> 31:09.697 you know thinking outside the box, 31:09.697 --> 31:12.610 has this sort of come to your attention? 31:12.610 --> 31:14.509 - Uh, that has not in particular. 31:14.509 --> 31:17.722 But I think these types of conversations 31:17.722 --> 31:20.848 you need to be sharing with each other, number one. 31:20.848 --> 31:23.036 What's working, what's not working. 31:23.036 --> 31:25.690 We're very much an immediate task here 31:25.690 --> 31:29.000 focusing on after an assault moving forward 31:29.000 --> 31:30.870 before we mark up the defense bill. 31:30.870 --> 31:32.770 But we still have work to do on the front end, 31:32.770 --> 31:35.100 so this task force that we have with the services 31:35.100 --> 31:37.488 we're gonna be continuing our work, 31:37.488 --> 31:39.320 looking at the front end. 31:39.320 --> 31:41.433 I think one of the biggest challenges that I, 31:41.433 --> 31:44.034 again in the last month that I've been focusing 31:44.034 --> 31:46.790 more on this than in my lifetime, 31:46.790 --> 31:49.375 I mean in a very profound way. 31:49.375 --> 31:54.375 The ability for us to research what actually is working 31:54.890 --> 31:56.740 and what is not working on the prevention end. 31:56.740 --> 31:57.860 I think is critical. 31:57.860 --> 31:59.070 We got a bunch of universities here, right? 31:59.070 --> 32:00.220 You guys are good at research. 32:00.220 --> 32:03.960 So how do we not just keep throwing things at the wall 32:03.960 --> 32:05.890 and trying 'em out on the prevention side. 32:05.890 --> 32:07.870 But how do we figure out, in this environment, 32:07.870 --> 32:09.823 in this culture, with this generation, 32:10.790 --> 32:13.410 with 25% turn over every year. 32:13.410 --> 32:15.877 What actually is working on the prevention side 32:15.877 --> 32:19.240 and the culture side, in order to address this 32:19.240 --> 32:20.800 as they're showing up at universities. 32:20.800 --> 32:23.887 And if that's one that actually is meaningfully working, 32:23.887 --> 32:25.962 why don't we try to research that 32:25.962 --> 32:29.420 and other things that may be working or not working 32:29.420 --> 32:30.860 so that you can all share with each other 32:30.860 --> 32:32.570 and then, you gotta be nimble too, 32:32.570 --> 32:35.205 because it may adjust as the new generation comes in 32:35.205 --> 32:37.560 with different dynamics. 32:37.560 --> 32:41.520 That hey, this seems to be really, really making an impact. 32:41.520 --> 32:43.970 So, I'd love to get some more information on that. 32:43.970 --> 32:45.510 But I also think there's a research piece 32:45.510 --> 32:46.343 that needs to happen. 32:46.343 --> 32:47.620 Now whether that's federally funded or not 32:47.620 --> 32:49.190 we can have a conversation about. 32:49.190 --> 32:50.950 But there's a lot of research that happens 32:50.950 --> 32:52.830 at all your universities all the time. 32:52.830 --> 32:55.097 Maybe a focus on this would be really helpful. 32:55.097 --> 32:56.203 - [Jill] Thank you. 32:59.230 --> 33:00.660 - We'll go over there and then right back. 33:00.660 --> 33:01.493 Okay, yeah. 33:01.493 --> 33:04.221 - Hello, Greg Gunderson with Park University. 33:04.221 --> 33:07.410 One of the reasons that I'm here as University President 33:07.410 --> 33:09.570 is because there's so much to learn from the military. 33:09.570 --> 33:10.690 I'll give you a quick example, 33:10.690 --> 33:14.010 Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri near our campus, 33:14.010 --> 33:16.269 it's commander made a decision to focus on 33:16.269 --> 33:18.770 the suicide rate of service personnel 33:18.770 --> 33:21.380 and for 18 months it had 100% success rate 33:21.380 --> 33:22.280 in addressing that. 33:22.280 --> 33:25.306 And so I've come to admire the military for the discipline. 33:25.306 --> 33:27.560 No organization is better able to, 33:27.560 --> 33:29.457 when it addresses a problem, solve it. 33:29.457 --> 33:33.420 My question to you is, from your experience in the military, 33:33.420 --> 33:36.380 what you've seen in the Senate on your committee work, 33:36.380 --> 33:38.200 is there one thing that the military is doing 33:38.200 --> 33:40.360 that you wish everyone would emulate? 33:40.360 --> 33:42.900 Something that you've seen or that you've participated in 33:42.900 --> 33:45.098 that we could, as higher education learners, 33:45.098 --> 33:48.390 better adapt what we're approaching this, 33:48.390 --> 33:49.937 how we're approaching this problem. 33:49.937 --> 33:50.770 - Yeah, thanks. 33:50.770 --> 33:55.146 Well, on the spectrum of prevention all the way to justice, 33:55.146 --> 33:57.790 I would say the military's doing a lot of things. 33:57.790 --> 34:01.270 But the one thing that stands out right now 34:01.270 --> 34:03.053 is the Special Victims' Counsel. 34:03.980 --> 34:05.846 We, and this has just been recent, 34:05.846 --> 34:09.656 where we now assign to the victim 34:09.656 --> 34:12.423 an attorney who is just for them. 34:13.280 --> 34:17.590 You know usually, this is a profound crime 34:17.590 --> 34:19.300 that happens to the victim, 34:19.300 --> 34:21.610 they end up being a witness in a crime 34:21.610 --> 34:25.130 that's like the state versus the perpetrator, 34:25.130 --> 34:26.980 or the military versus the perpetrator, 34:26.980 --> 34:29.650 and what we found is, through a lot of feedback, 34:29.650 --> 34:32.940 is they felt like nobody kinda had their back. 34:32.940 --> 34:37.064 That was uniquely their voice and their interests 34:37.064 --> 34:39.640 in this proceeding. 34:39.640 --> 34:43.390 And so the opportunity which is like none other 34:43.390 --> 34:47.120 in civil society, for the victims to have their own counsel, 34:47.120 --> 34:49.700 and to have them be assigned to them 34:49.700 --> 34:51.710 and be a part of that process, 34:51.710 --> 34:53.550 has, we've heard feedback, 34:53.550 --> 34:55.760 it's really made a profound difference 34:55.760 --> 34:57.580 in the process for a victim. 34:57.580 --> 34:59.270 For a victim who's come forward 34:59.270 --> 35:01.690 said, I'm gonna go through this, I'm reporting it. 35:01.690 --> 35:03.773 The whole investigation and the whole judicial process. 35:03.773 --> 35:06.130 For them to be able to hang tough, 35:06.130 --> 35:07.808 through what is a very difficult, 35:07.808 --> 35:10.740 often very lengthy, journey. 35:10.740 --> 35:14.470 And very, very traumatic for them. 35:14.470 --> 35:18.420 To have that counsel who's in the room, who represents them, 35:18.420 --> 35:21.220 I think is something that we should be doin' everywhere. 35:22.180 --> 35:23.210 Yes ma'am. 35:23.210 --> 35:24.901 - Hi ma'am, thank you so much for your service. 35:24.901 --> 35:27.210 My name is Major Corpsman Dykes 35:27.210 --> 35:30.070 and I was previously assigned to DOD SAPRO, 35:30.070 --> 35:32.280 that was my previous duty station. 35:32.280 --> 35:35.312 I'm now assigned to OMAR P, we're a funding agency. 35:35.312 --> 35:37.233 We do federal research. 35:37.233 --> 35:39.610 We currently have a preprogram announcement, 35:39.610 --> 35:42.530 that we're about to release, 35:42.530 --> 35:45.765 to do sexual assault prevention research in the military. 35:45.765 --> 35:48.170 But when it comes to money, 35:48.170 --> 35:50.350 you can see how many people are in the room, 35:50.350 --> 35:54.730 we can maybe fund four people to do this research. 35:54.730 --> 35:57.640 Maybe, if we're really stretching dollars. 35:57.640 --> 35:59.660 So I don't necessarily have a question for you. 35:59.660 --> 36:01.810 I just kinda wanted to bring that to your attention. 36:01.810 --> 36:04.490 That if there's any place that is gonna do this research 36:04.490 --> 36:08.520 it's our institution and there's just not a whole lot there. 36:08.520 --> 36:10.480 And so I'm really glad that you're taking the charge 36:10.480 --> 36:14.160 and, you know, bringing the fierce and force with you. 36:14.160 --> 36:18.156 But yeah, there's a lot of people who need money to do this. 36:18.156 --> 36:19.270 - Yeah got it. 36:19.270 --> 36:21.425 Again, we can take a look at. (audience laughing) 36:21.425 --> 36:25.290 Everyone's always looking for the federal minted fund. 36:25.290 --> 36:26.640 But we can take a look at, 36:26.640 --> 36:29.780 within DOD, that appropriate level 36:29.780 --> 36:32.810 and we can have that conversation for sure going forward. 36:32.810 --> 36:35.940 But also again, at universities or through grants 36:35.940 --> 36:37.840 that are more kinda social science stuff, 36:37.840 --> 36:38.980 I mean there's gotta be, 36:38.980 --> 36:40.260 we gotta get 'em to think outside the box. 36:40.260 --> 36:41.790 Like what other grants are available, 36:41.790 --> 36:43.417 what other research funding is available. 36:43.417 --> 36:45.610 You're gonna focus on what matters to you. 36:45.610 --> 36:48.380 So like, make sure that there's purpose on this. 36:48.380 --> 36:50.240 There's a lot of things being researched right now. 36:50.240 --> 36:52.440 There are a lot of resources out there for research 36:52.440 --> 36:54.030 so let's research, if we care about this, 36:54.030 --> 36:56.290 let's make sure the research is happening in this area 36:56.290 --> 36:59.167 so that we can really figure out what's going on. 36:59.167 --> 37:00.820 One of the challenges we have, 37:00.820 --> 37:02.480 again where I think the research really helps, 37:02.480 --> 37:04.370 is we just have turn over all the time. 37:04.370 --> 37:07.231 You know, we turn over, again every 25% come in 37:07.231 --> 37:10.680 new people to your universities and academies every year. 37:10.680 --> 37:13.510 But then even leaders will start measuring something 37:13.510 --> 37:14.830 and then a new leader comes in 37:14.830 --> 37:16.160 and they're like, I wanna measure something different, 37:16.160 --> 37:18.759 and so we're often comparing apples to oranges. 37:18.759 --> 37:20.790 We can't get any traction. 37:20.790 --> 37:22.910 Because of the turnover that we have even in leadership. 37:22.910 --> 37:24.660 And everybody has new bright ideas. 37:24.660 --> 37:27.590 So grounding some of this in research I think is crucial, 37:27.590 --> 37:29.815 because then we can be comparing apples to apples. 37:29.815 --> 37:30.840 - [Dykes] Thank you. 37:30.840 --> 37:31.860 - Thanks. 37:31.860 --> 37:32.693 Yes sir. 37:32.693 --> 37:35.560 - I have to say one thing just to respond to that, 37:35.560 --> 37:37.148 we are putting quite a bit into research. 37:37.148 --> 37:39.920 And one of the reasons we wanted to get everyone here 37:39.920 --> 37:43.600 is to share the resources that we have been deploying 37:43.600 --> 37:45.180 in that research, 37:45.180 --> 37:49.264 so just to set the boat straight and we truly mean that. 37:49.264 --> 37:50.930 I look at all the programs 37:50.930 --> 37:54.403 between the Air Force, Army, Marine, Coast Guard, Navy. 37:54.403 --> 37:58.770 It is stunning the amount of dollars and human capital 37:58.770 --> 37:59.603 we've put for that. 37:59.603 --> 38:01.930 And we wanna make sure that is available to you. 38:01.930 --> 38:03.993 I remember in one of our testimonies we've said 38:03.993 --> 38:07.540 if there's anything that you all want that we can share 38:07.540 --> 38:09.170 it's yours to access. 38:09.170 --> 38:11.334 - Great, didn't you mean set the airplane straight? 38:11.334 --> 38:13.584 (laughing) 38:14.700 --> 38:15.533 Go Air Force. 38:15.533 --> 38:16.366 Alright, anyway, go ahead. 38:16.366 --> 38:18.161 Had to get it in. 38:18.161 --> 38:22.630 - Hi, Suzanne Goldberg from Columbia University. 38:22.630 --> 38:25.150 And I actually couldn't have planned this, 38:25.150 --> 38:26.980 but when you said something about funding 38:26.980 --> 38:28.850 I had to pop up and say something, 38:28.850 --> 38:33.850 because we dedicated actually over two million dollars 38:34.320 --> 38:35.760 at Columbia to studying ourselves. 38:35.760 --> 38:37.630 We studied our undergraduates. 38:37.630 --> 38:39.450 So it's a research study called 38:39.450 --> 38:42.710 Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation 38:42.710 --> 38:44.436 or SHIFT at Columbia. 38:44.436 --> 38:46.440 And the reason I'm mentioning it 38:46.440 --> 38:49.400 is that the research focused on 38:49.400 --> 38:51.930 sexual assault and sexual health 38:51.930 --> 38:54.210 along with mental health and substance abuse 38:54.210 --> 38:56.430 and we all know that there's a tremendous link 38:56.430 --> 38:58.140 across all of these three. 38:58.140 --> 39:00.960 It turns out that there is not 39:00.960 --> 39:02.324 a great deal of federal funding 39:02.324 --> 39:04.930 that enables you to study all three at once. 39:04.930 --> 39:07.180 And so, really just a flag for you 39:07.180 --> 39:10.110 that when someone's going to national institutes of health 39:10.110 --> 39:11.890 to seek funding on mental health, 39:11.890 --> 39:13.290 they can't necessarily get it 39:13.290 --> 39:15.990 for funding related to a project that also includes 39:15.990 --> 39:19.040 sexual assault and also includes substance use. 39:19.040 --> 39:21.270 And I'll just mention that one of the papers 39:21.270 --> 39:22.780 that came out of this research 39:22.780 --> 39:25.604 which is again public health and lots of different areas, 39:25.604 --> 39:28.110 is called I Didn't Wanna Be That Girl. 39:28.110 --> 39:31.530 And it's a study that's based on ethnographies 39:31.530 --> 39:33.616 of young people, of our students, 39:33.616 --> 39:36.680 who talked about what they experienced 39:36.680 --> 39:37.970 and why they didn't share it, 39:37.970 --> 39:39.040 and how they didn't share it, 39:39.040 --> 39:40.870 and how the social dynamics affected them. 39:40.870 --> 39:43.140 So whatever we all can do 39:43.140 --> 39:46.960 to find funding at the intersection of these issues, 39:46.960 --> 39:48.430 I think would be really terrific. 39:48.430 --> 39:49.635 - No, that's great feedback. 39:49.635 --> 39:51.530 We'll follow up on that, if there's barriers, 39:51.530 --> 39:55.240 if there's funding available for generally types of research 39:55.240 --> 39:58.710 but there's barriers towards it being intersectional, 39:58.710 --> 40:00.200 like you said, with the different topics 40:00.200 --> 40:02.517 then we'll take a look at that as well. 40:02.517 --> 40:05.990 I also, my guess is, too for you universities 40:05.990 --> 40:08.387 probably the ones that are not here. 40:08.387 --> 40:12.110 The first step is identifying that you gotta problem, right? 40:12.110 --> 40:13.920 And being willing to admit you have a problem. 40:13.920 --> 40:16.070 People may be concerned about, oh we don't wanna talk 40:16.070 --> 40:18.200 about what's happening here 'cause our US News, 40:18.200 --> 40:20.050 you know our report ratings will go down. 40:20.050 --> 40:22.680 There's gotta be a way for there to be 40:22.680 --> 40:24.683 honest conversations to tackle this issue, 40:24.683 --> 40:28.690 that there is incentivizing the authenticity on it 40:28.690 --> 40:30.390 instead of disincentivizing authenticity. 40:30.390 --> 40:31.640 I don't know what that answer is, 40:31.640 --> 40:33.360 but I'm grateful that those who are represented 40:33.360 --> 40:35.094 are here today, and we gotta figure out 40:35.094 --> 40:37.800 how to remove those barriers for there to be 40:37.800 --> 40:40.710 kind of an honest research and sharing of data 40:40.710 --> 40:41.830 of what's actually going on 40:41.830 --> 40:43.328 and what's working and what's not working. 40:43.328 --> 40:44.310 Yes ma'am. 40:44.310 --> 40:45.240 - Good morning ma'am. 40:45.240 --> 40:46.073 My names Samantha Ross, 40:46.073 --> 40:47.980 I'm the SHARP Program Manager from West Point. 40:47.980 --> 40:50.070 Thank you for adding your voice and leadership 40:50.070 --> 40:52.860 to the cacophony of survivors, it really matters. 40:52.860 --> 40:54.600 I really really appreciate that. 40:54.600 --> 40:57.020 My question is to kinda go to something 40:57.020 --> 40:59.070 that you alluded to at the very beginning of your talk 40:59.070 --> 41:01.210 and also to follow in line with what you said 41:01.210 --> 41:02.990 to think outside the box. 41:02.990 --> 41:04.780 So I've been doing work on college campuses 41:04.780 --> 41:07.090 around sexual violence prevention for about 20 years 41:07.090 --> 41:10.998 and I'm always struggling with the belief or the expectation 41:10.998 --> 41:12.730 that colleges and universities 41:12.730 --> 41:15.850 are the nexus of where change should be happening. 41:15.850 --> 41:17.370 So I've done a lot of research about 41:17.370 --> 41:18.890 what's happening before they get 41:18.890 --> 41:22.170 to the academies or to our colleges and universities. 41:22.170 --> 41:25.260 And there is a dearth at the federal level 41:25.260 --> 41:27.000 and at the state level, 41:27.000 --> 41:31.210 of comprehensive education about relationships 41:31.210 --> 41:32.310 and dignity and respect. 41:32.310 --> 41:34.228 By the time they get to colleges and universities. 41:34.228 --> 41:37.600 (audience clapping) 41:37.600 --> 41:39.360 By the time they get to colleges and universities 41:39.360 --> 41:41.350 their attitudes, their beliefs, their habits 41:41.350 --> 41:44.134 are already formed, and we get four years if we're lucky, 41:44.134 --> 41:45.600 to make an impact. 41:45.600 --> 41:47.310 So I wonder if there's any conversation 41:47.310 --> 41:49.780 in the circles that you run in on the Capital Hill 41:49.780 --> 41:51.980 and in representatives in Congress, 41:51.980 --> 41:54.440 about what the work could be done 41:54.440 --> 41:57.720 to make something that is addressing this. 41:57.720 --> 42:00.110 There's literally eight states that I can count, 42:00.110 --> 42:02.501 based off of looking at the Guttmacher Institute 42:02.501 --> 42:04.922 that do a comprehensive program 42:04.922 --> 42:08.450 that includes HIV, that includes consent, 42:08.450 --> 42:10.230 that includes relationship skills, 42:10.230 --> 42:13.810 and that includes the concepts that they so desperately need 42:13.810 --> 42:14.920 because when they show up to us 42:14.920 --> 42:16.490 and alcohol is part of the problem, 42:16.490 --> 42:19.130 they don't have the skill set to leverage that 42:19.130 --> 42:21.020 in a way that helps them make good decisions 42:21.020 --> 42:22.580 that are healthy and supportive 42:22.580 --> 42:23.830 and respectful to their peers. 42:23.830 --> 42:25.250 I just wonder if you could speak to that. 42:25.250 --> 42:27.660 - Yeah, well thank you for all you do. 42:27.660 --> 42:28.880 First of all, for all those years. 42:28.880 --> 42:31.170 And thanks for, that's a really interesting point. 42:31.170 --> 42:32.840 I hadn't thought about that before. 42:32.840 --> 42:35.370 You know at the federal level, 42:35.370 --> 42:37.480 I mean a lot of what goes on 42:37.480 --> 42:39.280 before people get to universities 42:39.280 --> 42:41.970 is education K through 12 is managed 42:41.970 --> 42:44.095 at the state and local level, and I think it should be. 42:44.095 --> 42:47.588 I think we need less federal, 42:47.588 --> 42:49.760 unfunded mandates especially, 42:49.760 --> 42:51.280 my mom was a public school educator 42:51.280 --> 42:54.400 after my dad passed away and long before I was in Congress 42:54.400 --> 42:56.844 I would hear about unfunded Washington D.C. mandates. 42:56.844 --> 42:59.770 But, so these conversations I think need to happen 42:59.770 --> 43:02.190 at the school district level, at the state level. 43:02.190 --> 43:04.730 'Cause that's primarily where all of that 43:04.730 --> 43:07.043 is being inculcated into our young people. 43:07.043 --> 43:11.060 But, you know, as someone who's now leading on this issue. 43:11.060 --> 43:12.941 I can certainly be a platform and a voice 43:12.941 --> 43:15.610 to have that kind of conversation. 43:15.610 --> 43:19.190 It may not mean there's a federal act of Congress 43:19.190 --> 43:20.023 that addresses it, 43:20.023 --> 43:21.758 but you're definitely on to something. 43:21.758 --> 43:23.760 That definitely needs to be addressed. 43:23.760 --> 43:26.013 But that comes from, again, the bottom up I think. 43:26.013 --> 43:28.370 In civic society, in our school districts, 43:28.370 --> 43:29.960 in our communities, in our states. 43:29.960 --> 43:31.850 What are they doing to address these issues? 43:31.850 --> 43:34.689 We cannot have them, you know, stick their head in the sand 43:34.689 --> 43:36.500 and then they show up to universities 43:36.500 --> 43:38.301 and you guys just gotta figure out how to, 43:38.301 --> 43:40.090 you know, how to respond to it. 43:40.090 --> 43:42.000 So thanks for planting that seed with me. 43:42.000 --> 43:44.603 Alright, one last question. 43:46.220 --> 43:47.080 - Hi, good morning, 43:47.080 --> 43:48.720 and again thank you for sharing your story. 43:48.720 --> 43:50.780 I'm Suzanne de Janasz, I'm a professor 43:50.780 --> 43:53.480 of leadership and conflict analysis resolution 43:53.480 --> 43:54.750 at George Mason. 43:54.750 --> 43:57.770 And I'm relatively new to the study of sexual harassment. 43:57.770 --> 44:00.440 Some of my background has been in the area of mentoring. 44:00.440 --> 44:01.970 And we're gonna present later 44:01.970 --> 44:04.870 on where that may have some impact. 44:04.870 --> 44:06.370 But my question as I've been listening 44:06.370 --> 44:09.090 to a lot of presenters today, 44:09.090 --> 44:11.480 is we talk about people making the right choices 44:11.480 --> 44:14.700 or being educated, and yet what I keep hearing 44:14.700 --> 44:17.380 is oh, well that just comes with the territory. 44:17.380 --> 44:19.670 Like, I expect to be touched that way. 44:19.670 --> 44:22.070 Or I expect that that's not a big deal. 44:22.070 --> 44:23.530 We were having breakfast this morning 44:23.530 --> 44:25.657 and a woman asked us why are we here. 44:25.657 --> 44:27.452 And we said oh we're going to this conference 44:27.452 --> 44:29.300 on sexual harassment. 44:29.300 --> 44:30.380 And I said, have you ever been? 44:30.380 --> 44:31.580 And she goes oh well you know, 44:31.580 --> 44:33.200 it just comes with the territory. 44:33.200 --> 44:35.457 So I'm just wondering, yeah exactly. 44:35.457 --> 44:37.700 So as the person who spoke before me 44:37.700 --> 44:40.650 talked about K through 12 or even earlier, 44:40.650 --> 44:45.370 how do we educate people that it's not okay. 44:45.370 --> 44:47.650 So it's not just making a good choice. 44:47.650 --> 44:51.110 But believing that what we're doing, I mean how do we begin 44:51.110 --> 44:53.420 to have that conversation and culture change? 44:53.420 --> 44:55.690 - Yeah, first it's not okay, right? 44:55.690 --> 44:56.840 - Yes! 44:56.840 --> 44:59.154 - But I can relate to that a little bit. 44:59.154 --> 45:02.819 Again, where in my experience and at those times 45:02.819 --> 45:05.590 there were many of us who went through what I went through 45:05.590 --> 45:08.420 and many who experienced things on the spectrum of harm. 45:08.420 --> 45:12.291 And, you know, it was just this sort of silent 45:12.291 --> 45:15.363 that people just suffered in silence. 45:17.160 --> 45:19.090 But we're in a different place and time, 45:19.090 --> 45:21.610 and we're looking forward not back. 45:21.610 --> 45:24.090 And so much work has been done I think 45:24.090 --> 45:25.700 over the last many years in the military 45:25.700 --> 45:26.735 and in civil society, 45:26.735 --> 45:30.726 where the awareness level of what is going on 45:30.726 --> 45:34.720 for a very long time in many sectors of society 45:34.720 --> 45:36.150 we're now finally having a conversation 45:36.150 --> 45:37.580 like it's not okay. 45:37.580 --> 45:38.980 I think, and it's at a level 45:38.980 --> 45:40.570 that I've never seen in my lifetime. 45:40.570 --> 45:43.240 Across civil society, you know, 45:43.240 --> 45:45.500 how we inculcate our young people in that? 45:45.500 --> 45:49.790 I mean it's parenting, it's faith leaders, 45:49.790 --> 45:52.690 it's coaches, its civil society, it's all that had, 45:52.690 --> 45:53.670 and it goes in the classroom. 45:53.670 --> 45:55.170 I mean all that stuff, if, 45:55.170 --> 45:57.210 you know Congress can barely pass a budget. 45:57.210 --> 45:59.139 So don't make us be in charge of that, right? 45:59.139 --> 46:02.070 But I think these are the conversations we need to have 46:02.070 --> 46:03.570 about what's going on in our society, 46:03.570 --> 46:04.450 what's going on in our culture, 46:04.450 --> 46:06.340 what's going on in our communities. 46:06.340 --> 46:07.749 And how can we better, 46:07.749 --> 46:10.490 better set people up for success, 46:10.490 --> 46:12.940 and make sure that they know what the boundaries are, 46:12.940 --> 46:14.593 what's appropriate, and what to do 46:14.593 --> 46:16.220 when you experience something like this. 46:16.220 --> 46:19.072 I was talking to somebody last night. 46:19.072 --> 46:21.942 I mean they're a fellow elected official 46:21.942 --> 46:23.480 who was just sharing a story 46:23.480 --> 46:25.959 about how his daughter went off to college 46:25.959 --> 46:30.000 and got a phone call on a Saturday morning 46:30.000 --> 46:32.040 and no kidding, I mean the fact that he said, 46:32.040 --> 46:34.280 I was afraid she was, it was early Saturday morning. 46:34.280 --> 46:35.113 I was afraid she was calling 46:35.113 --> 46:37.553 to say something bad happened to her. 46:37.553 --> 46:40.415 In fact what she had shared was 46:40.415 --> 46:43.723 that somebody had put something in a drink 46:43.723 --> 46:47.070 and she was able to identify something wasn't quite right 46:47.070 --> 46:49.400 and so they were able to kinda get her out of the situation 46:49.400 --> 46:50.930 and get her to medical care. 46:50.930 --> 46:55.050 But like, (gasps), what a wake up call that that was 46:55.050 --> 46:56.380 for that young woman. 46:56.380 --> 46:59.080 That something just happened in this environment 46:59.080 --> 47:01.870 that, you know, your parents can tell you all they want. 47:01.870 --> 47:03.440 You guys know, right? 47:03.440 --> 47:04.970 What the dynamic is. 47:04.970 --> 47:08.290 But sometimes, you get blown off. 47:08.290 --> 47:10.880 Sometimes teenagers don't think 47:10.880 --> 47:12.090 their parents know what they're talking about. 47:12.090 --> 47:16.310 But until you actually experience that risk yourself 47:16.310 --> 47:20.341 or sadly, an assault yourself, maybe you don't understand 47:20.341 --> 47:23.510 what potentially is out there that could do harm to you. 47:23.510 --> 47:25.650 But it's not okay, so having that conversation about 47:25.650 --> 47:26.902 like that's not okay. 47:26.902 --> 47:30.010 And making sure that people know 47:30.010 --> 47:31.680 what they can do when they recognize 47:31.680 --> 47:33.030 something that's happened to them as not okay. 47:33.030 --> 47:34.260 That's the key, right? 47:34.260 --> 47:35.540 That they know it's not okay, 47:35.540 --> 47:36.850 but then they do something about it 47:36.850 --> 47:38.590 or they're willing, if they choose to, 47:38.590 --> 47:39.990 to get the care they need. 47:39.990 --> 47:41.240 That's the other thing we do in the military. 47:41.240 --> 47:43.470 We've gotten to where we allow them 47:43.470 --> 47:45.560 to do a restricted report or an unrestricted report. 47:45.560 --> 47:47.660 So that's another best practice I think. 47:47.660 --> 47:50.080 Where they can immediately do a restricted report 47:50.080 --> 47:53.560 that says I was sexually assaulted, I need some help. 47:53.560 --> 47:55.840 Go get medical care, go get mental health support. 47:55.840 --> 47:57.740 Whatever you need. 47:57.740 --> 47:59.990 But that doesn't mean I'm gonna immediately be 47:59.990 --> 48:03.500 put into a room with OSI to go through a full investigation 48:03.500 --> 48:06.110 about what just happened and go through the whole process. 48:06.110 --> 48:08.790 The investigation and then criminal justice process. 48:08.790 --> 48:11.870 That a restricted report means I just need some care. 48:11.870 --> 48:15.640 An unrestricted report means go get the, 48:15.640 --> 48:17.597 sorry I was just about to swear (laughs). 48:18.438 --> 48:19.430 - [Suzanne] It's okay. 48:19.430 --> 48:20.763 - An unrestricted report means, 48:20.763 --> 48:24.280 I'm reporting it and I want it to be investigated 48:24.280 --> 48:27.080 and I want to go through the judicial process. 48:27.080 --> 48:29.430 So I think on the civilian side, if there can be, 48:29.430 --> 48:31.400 I don't know within the construct of the law 48:31.400 --> 48:33.790 if there's ways to even model that, 48:33.790 --> 48:34.670 that's something to think about. 48:34.670 --> 48:36.640 But the first step is, it's not okay. 48:36.640 --> 48:38.050 But then what are you gonna do about it. 48:38.050 --> 48:39.840 To get you care you need for the victim. 48:39.840 --> 48:42.890 And then to immediately, immediately 48:42.890 --> 48:46.460 be able to have a high quality, timely investigation 48:46.460 --> 48:50.463 that can lead to due process and appropriate justice. 48:51.320 --> 48:52.300 Thank you. 48:52.300 --> 48:53.500 Alright, thank you everybody. 48:53.500 --> 48:54.573 I know we're probably over time but... 48:54.573 --> 48:55.406 (audience applauding) 48:55.406 --> 48:56.737 Thanks for all you do, all the best. 48:56.737 --> 48:58.305 Really appreciate it. 48:58.305 --> 49:01.555 (audience applauding)