Getty Sen. Martha McSally says she was raped in the military by a superior officer.
Arizona Senator Martha McSally said during a Senate hearing Wednesday that she was raped in the military by a superior officer.
McSally, the first woman fighter pilot to fly in combat and a 26-year military veteran, revealed the sexual assault during a hearing on the military’s efforts to prevent rape and sexual assault.
McSally speaks out on sexual assault in military, reveals she was raped by a superior officer in the Air Force: “Like many victims, I felt the system was raping me all over again.”
“So like you, I am also a military sexual assault survivor,” the freshman Republican senator told a witness at the hearing, saying she was “preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer.”
McSally said she did not report the rape because she did not trust the system.
“I didn’t report being sexually assaulted. Like so many women and men, I didn’t trust the system at the time,” she said. “I blamed myself. I was ashamed and confused. I thought I was strong but felt powerless.”
“I stayed silent for many years, but later in my career, as the military grappled with the scandals, and their wholly inadequate responses, I felt the need to let some people know I too was a survivor,” McSally said. “I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences was handled. I almost separated from the Air Force at 18 years of service over my despair. Like many victims, I felt like the system was raping me all over again.”
“We’ve come a long way to stop military sexual assault but we have a long way to go,” McSally added.
Fellow Senator Joni Ernst Revealed That She Was Raped Earlier This Year
McSally’s disclosure comes just weeks after fellow Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa revealed for the first time that she was raped in college.
“I didn’t want to share it with anybody, and in the era of #MeToo survivors, I always believed that every person is different and they will confront their demons when they’re ready. And I was not ready,” Ernst told Bloomberg News in January.
ernst said that she was in a relationship with someone that was physically and sexually abusive. One night, she told the outlet, the man raped her and threatened to kill himself if she broke up with him.
Ernst said she ended the relationship but did not report the rape.
READ NEXT: Second Woman Accuses Virginia Lt. Governor of Rape