Democracy Forward, National Women’s Law Center Seek Answers from Pentagon on Rollbacks to Sexual Assault Prevention, Military Justice, and Protections for Women Service Members
FOIA Requests Focus on Staffing Cuts, Dismantled Advisory Bodies, and Policy Changes that Threaten Accountability, Safety, and Readiness Across the Armed Forces
Washington, D.C. — Democracy Forward and National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) today filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Space Force demanding transparency around recent proposed changes that could impact military justice, sexual assault prevention and response, equal opportunity programs, and other policies affecting women serving in the armed forces.
The requests seek records detailing staffing levels, internal assessments, policy directives, and decisionmaking related to offices responsible for investigating and prosecuting sexual misconduct, supporting survivors, enforcing equal opportunity laws, and preventing abuse, including the Office of Special Trial Counsel, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response programs, Military Equal Opportunity and Equal Employment Opportunity programs, and DOD’s primary prevention workforce.
Since early 2025, DOD has undertaken a series of actions and proposed changes, including personnel transfers, policy reviews, changes to referral criteria, and the termination of long-standing advisory committees focused on women in the military and sexual misconduct, that raise serious concerns about whether these critical programs remain effective, adequately resourced, and capable of protecting service members.
The FOIA requests also seek records related to memoranda issued by senior DOD leadership ordering broad reviews and reforms of equal opportunity and military justice programs, as well as analyses of the elimination of advisory bodies such as the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services and the Defense Advisory Committee for Prevention of Sexual Misconduct.
“Pete Hegseth wants women out of the military and he isn’t hiding it,” said Gaylynn Burroughs, vice president for education & workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center. “His September speech at Quantico wrongly suggested women are too weak to serve our nation and his actions, like attacking the systems that help prevent harassment and ensure accountability, demonstrate his desire to push women out by any means necessary. Even though he has been loud about his intentions, Hegseth’s DOD has shut the public out of the real impact this may have on women in the military and on our military’s readiness and effectiveness. Our service members and nation deserve better – so we’re pulling back the curtain.”
“When the Trump-Vance administration quietly weakens the systems meant to prevent sexual violence, protect survivors, and ensure accountability, it puts all service members at risk,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Our service members risk their lives on behalf of our nation, and deserve the hard fought and won protections that have been afforded to them after decades of pursuing reforms. If the Department’s leadership believes these new changes make our military stronger, it should have no problem showing its work. Transparency is not optional when people’s safety, dignity, and trust in the system are at stake.”
The organizations are requesting records covering staffing levels before and after recent policy shifts, internal assessments of program sufficiency, data on complaints and investigations, and analyses underlying leadership directives affecting equal opportunity, sexual assault prevention, and women’s service in military roles.
Read the requests here.
