Redemption for Rape Victims in the Military (And Everywhere)

(Image credit: Marie Claire)

published 20 December 13

Last night Congress passed a whole slew of changes to the military policies concerning cases of sexual assault and rape. Abuse has been a huge problem for tens of thousands of troops over the years and this will hopefully be a step in the direction toward justice.

The Pentagon estimates that 26,000 troops have been assaulted or raped just last year alone, the Washington Post (opens in new tab) reports. The legislation will end the statute of limitations (huge win) and ban military commanders from appealing guilty jury convictions, as well as make it a punishable crime to seek revenge against victims who have reported assault and rape cases.

This is a BIG DEAL. Similarly, female students at Columbia have been denied hearings (opens in new tab) due to a "lack of evidence," and these issues are not confined to the NYC school. Women from all over have been contradicted, discouraged, ignored, and even blamed when they come forward to report a sexual assault on campus. Here's to hoping these changes actually take effect. Stay tuned.

Hallie Gould

Hallie has worked in beauty editorial for ten years and has been editorial director at Byrdie since 2021. Previously, she was a senior editor at Byrdie since 2016. During her time at Byrdie, she's written hundreds of high-performing stories on skincare, wellness (including fitness, diet, mental health, body image, et al) makeup, and hair. She's a regular on set, helping to source inspiration for makeup and hair looks, as well as interviewing celebrities, models, and other notable women and men in the beauty space.

Before that, Hallie ran Marie Claire's social media and wrote beauty and culture stories for the site, and helped launch Time Inc.'s digital-only beauty brand, MIMI. After college, she contributed to Time Out New York’s Shopping & Style section before landing her first beauty editor gig at Hearst's Real Beauty. Hallie's writing has also appeared in ELLE, Cosmopolitan, and InStyle. Hallie graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.