Sexual harassment is now a punishable offense in the military after President Joe Biden signs a new executive law on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

“This afternoon, I’m signing an Executive Order to make sexual harassment an offense in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and to strengthen the military’s response to domestic violence and the wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images.” Biden tweeted Wednesday morning.

After the I am Vanessa Guillen Act was put into effect last year, President Biden makes relations to provisions in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, taking proceedings outside of its command structure to be prosecuted.

This new order signed by Biden will change the way the U.S. military handles sexual harassment and assault, the legislation will become specific crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The crime specifies that the assault can be conducted in person or online and includes unwanted and non-consensual sharing of pornographic film and/or imagery.

The military’s response to domestic violence will also be strengthened by this new order.

Under the new law, commanders in the military will be excluded and removed from the decision-making in prosecutions for harassment and assault cases.

The military branches will instead establish a trial independent of commanders to oversee these cases.

“The Executive Order that the President signed today establishes sexual harassment as a specific offense under the UCMJ,” A statement released by the White House said, “It also strengthens the military justice response in prosecuting cases of domestic violence, and fully implements changes to the military justice code to criminalize the wrongful broadcast or distribution of intimate visual images.”

Sexual harassment is often a precursor to sexual assault and is pervasive within the active force with 25% of active duty women experiencing some form each year.

a

The RAND Corporation said that the military services and National Guard investigated 1,600 formal and informal complaints in sexual harassment in 2019.

A survey of active duty service members in 2018 reveals that almost 119,000 individuals reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment within the previous year.

A 2016 – 2020 report by the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office outlines that approximately 76% of victims in the military did not report their cases in Fiscal Year 2018.

Specialist Vanessa Guillen was 20 years old when her body was found buried nearby a lake 25 miles southeast of Fort Hood, Texas, where she served as a U.S. Army soldier, in April of 2020.

Investigations discovered that during her time serving in the military, prior to her death, Guillen suffered from sexual harassment by other enlisted soldiers and refused to report it in fear of retaliation by her assaulters.

The tragedy sparked a monumental movement transforming sexual assault reportings in the U.S. Military.

The life-changing outcomes resulting from her [unfortunate] death- such as the I Am Vanessa Guillen Act and the new order- has encouraged sexual harassment victims in the army to feel safer about reporting their experiences.