Hirono Presses Commandant of the Marine Corps for Commitment to Combat Mistreatment of Women Amid Ongoing Explicit Photo Scandal

Senator Mazie K. Hirono today pressed the Commandant of the Marine Corps General Robert Neller for a commitment to address sexual assault and the mistreatment of women in the Armed Forces, and questioned how it’s possible to achieve this goal if the Commander in Chief sets the opposite example.

“This has been a longstanding issue, not just in the Marines, but in all of our services,” said Senator Hirono. “So how do you even begin to change the culture when, for example, you have a Commander in Chief who exhibits certain attitudes toward women? How do you change that culture?”

As the Ranking Member of the Seapower Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Hirono has been a leading voice against sexual assault and the mistreatment of women in the military. Since 2013, Senator Hirono and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) championed legislation to establish an impartial, fair, and accountable military justice system to address the crisis of sexual assault.