Recent military reforms have changed how sexual assault cases move through the justice system, but survivors still face cultural and legal barriers that discourage many from reporting abuse, according to sexual abuse attorney Kayla Onder of Onder Law, who represents survivors in military-related cases across the country.
A Survivor’s Perspective on Representing Survivors
Onder, who is also a survivor of sexual abuse, said her personal experience helps clients overcome one of the first obstacles they face: the fear that no one will believe them.
“When you’re speaking to somebody that can understand, who can relate, I think it helps, she said. It helps start to eliminate that fear.
Why Survivors Wait to Report
That fear, she said, explains one of the most persistent misconceptions about sexual abuse survivors: the belief that waiting months or years to report somehow makes an allegation less credible.
“People naturally think that if it happened to you, you should have said something immediately,” Onder said. “Sexual abuse is a very different type of injury. It damages the mind as well as the body.”
According to Onder, survivors often delay reporting because they do not feel safe, fear retaliation, believe no one will take them seriously, or simply are not emotionally ready to relive the abuse through criminal investigations or civil litigation.
They also often feel shame or blame themselves for the incident. Researchers have found that delayed disclosure is common among sexual assault survivors and is influenced by trauma, fear and concerns about the consequences of reporting.
Those challenges exist across nearly every type of sexual abuse case, she said, whether the survivor is a child, a patient, an athlete or a service member. One pattern she sees repeatedly is an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and the victim.
“When somebody comes forward, they’ll often give just a little bit of information to see what your reaction is,” Onder said. “If it’s an immediate shutdown, they tend to go back into their cocoon.”
How Military Culture Complicates Reporting
Military cases add another layer of difficulty.
The military teaches people to endure hardship, not to complain and protect the team, Onder said. Those same instincts can sometimes really conflict with making reports of abuse.
Service members may worry that reporting abuse will be viewed as creating problems for their unit instead of seeking help, she explained. Military survivors also face a system in which housing, employment and daily life are controlled by the same institution involved in initiating their case.
New Prosecution Reforms Remain Unproven
Congress has attempted to address some of those concerns. Under reforms required by the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, independent prosecutors in the Office of Special Trial Counsel now decide whether to prosecute many serious offenses, including sexual assault, rather than leaving those decisions to commanders.
The new system became operational in late 2023.
Onder called the change “long overdue” but said it remains too early to know whether it has fundamentally improved outcomes for survivors.
“It’s a great structural change,” she said. “But time will tell how it helps survivors. The military has these built-in cultures, so even when you make structural changes, it doesn’t necessarily break down the culture immediately.”
Civil Lawsuits Offer Another Path to Accountability
She believes accountability also extends beyond criminal prosecutions.
Civil lawsuits, she said, often uncover institutional failures that criminal cases never address because they focus on whether organizations knew about abuse, ignored warning signs or failed to protect people in their care.
“When you start uncovering how much these institutions really knew, you realize this is a bigger problem than just one perpetrator,” Onder said. “What are institutions going to do to make it safer for people entrusted to their care?”
Feres Remains a Major Legal Barrier
One of the largest legal obstacles in military cases, Onder said, remains the Feres doctrine, a Supreme Court precedent that generally bars active duty service members from suing the federal government for injuries that arise as an “incident to service.” Courts have frequently applied the doctrine to dismiss military sexual assault claims based on this standard.
That legal landscape could change. The bipartisan Military Sexual Trauma Accountability Act would create an exception allowing service members and veterans to sue the federal government over military sexual trauma claims. The legislation was introduced by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.
Onder said she believes the proposal could improve both compensation and accountability. “Sometimes if you start hitting their bottom line, that’s when you start to really see change,” she said.
What Leaders Can Do Now
Even without additional legislation, Onder said military leaders can improve outcomes simply by following existing policies, taking reports seriously and protecting survivors from retaliation.
“You shouldn’t have to have the law tell you to do the right thing,” she said. “You should do the right thing because you are responsible for the safety and welfare of your troops.”
Despite the challenges, Onder remains optimistic that the military is moving in the right direction.
“I think we’re starting to look at these old laws and say, ‘This doesn’t work,’” she said. “These people sign up trying to do a good thing and serve our country. Why aren’t we protecting them? Why aren’t we making sure they’re safe in the system they are beholden to?”
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