Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ), the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat, revealed today in an emotional speech that was raped in the Air Force by a superior officer.
“Like you, I am also a military sexual assault survivor,” McSally said during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing on prevention and response to sexual assault in the military.
“But unlike so many brave survivors, I didn’t report being sexually assaulted. Like so many women and men, I didn’t trust the system at the time. I blamed myself. I was ashamed and confused, and I thought I was strong but felt powerless.”
JUST IN: In emotional moment at hearing on military sexual assault, Sen. Martha McSally, a U.S. Air Force combat veteran, says, “I am also a military sexual assault survivor.”
“In one case I was preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer.” https://t.co/cQigPdessz pic.twitter.com/H1aUxVO3vt
— ABC News (@ABC) March 6, 2019
McSally, who revealed last year that she was sexually abused by a coach during her senior year of high school, said there were numerous incidents of sexual assault while in the Air Force.
“The perpetrators abused their position of power in profound ways, and in one case I was preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer,” she said.
U.S. Air Force pilot Martha McSally. The highest ranking female fighter pilot.
She did not named her attacker, or when or where the assault happened.
The former A-10 squadron commander said she stayed silent for many years but later in her career, “as the military grappled with scandals and their wholly inadequate responses, I felt the need to let some people know, I too was a survivor. I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences were handled.”
She added that her experience almost led her to quit the service after 18 years.
“Like many victims, I felt the system was raping me all over again,” she said.
Pausing briefly during her speech as she was overcome with emotion, McSally continued, demanding that military commanders “stay at the center of the solution and live up to moral and legal responsibilities that come with being a commander.”
McSally, 52, was in the Air Force from 1988 to 2010, when she retired as a colonel.
When she entered the Air Force Academy in the 1980s, she said she was part of the ninth class that included women, and “sexual harassment and assault were prevalent,” while the victims “mostly suffered in silence.”
“My drive to fight against sexual assault in the ranks is not from the outside looking in and it is deeply personal,” she said. “During my 26 years in uniform I witnessed so many weaknesses in the processes involving sexual assault prevention, investigation and adjudication.”
McSally was the first American woman to fly in combat after a ban on women was lifted.