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“I just wanted it to stop.”
The echoes of testimony from survivors of sexual assault and harassment within the Maine National Guard have haunted me after my colleagues on the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee heard from these brave individuals. For years, many of our service members experienced abuse without systems of prevention and accountability to protect them. As a community, we had failed the very people dedicated to ensuring our safety.
I wanted to serve on the veterans committee especially to tackle issues like this. This session, our committee advanced a bill, now law, which sets in motion an independent investigation into sexual abuse within Maine’s National Guard. Additionally, Gov. Janet Mills signed an executive order to establish a new advisory council comprised, in part, of survivors of sexual trauma and the organizations that advocate on their behalf. These steps are needed in order to improve accountability and protect survivors as they seek justice.
None of these measures, unfortunately, can undo the trauma experienced by our service members. This issue hits close to home for me. I feel a deep responsibility to do right by those whose trust has been so badly betrayed. We must hold those responsible to account, including those who kept silent to maintain the status quo. We owe our service members more resources and real prevention. We can and must do better, and the measures we passed this year represent an important start.
Rep. Laura Supica
Bangor