Administrative Compensation for Military Harassment and Sexual Assault: A Win-Win for Victims and the Military

Last year, none of the more than 20,000 victims of sexual assault in the military were entitled to any compensation. Nor were the hundreds of thousands of service members subjected to racial and sexual harassment compensated in any way. Advocates have fought for decades to overturn the Feres doctrine to allow victims to sue the government in court. The military has countered that it must retain control over all issues involving discipline.

However, the military lacks the information necessary to be able to take effective action against those who harm others because many victims are afraid to come forward for fear of retaliation. This Article offers a way to solve both problems. It proposes creating an administrative process to compensate victims for the harm they endured while simultaneously providing an incentive for them to report the initial crime, as well as any retaliation they experience, thereby finally providing the military with the critical information it needs to act, which it is unable to obtain any other way.