Mayra Guillen(NEW YORK) Vanessa Guillen will forever be 20 years old, engaged but will never be married. She was murdered, inside one of the Army’s largest military installations. Later, the world learned that she had told her mother she was sexuall.
The Vanessa Guillen Act would make sexual harassment a crime in the military. Author: Rebecca Lopez Updated: 6:14 PM CDT May 13, 2021
Members of Congress flanked by the family of Vanessa Guillen said the clock has run out on the Department of Defense. Vanessa’s grisly murder awakened Congress,” said Congresswoman Jackie Speier, California.
Congress members said for years, military leaders have failed to deal with sexual harassment and assault in their ranks. Justice is needed for Vanessa and the soldiers facing an epidemic of sexual harassment and assault in our armed forces too often in the shadows,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, California.
Bill named after Vanessa Guillen is reintroduced
Congress reintroduces ‘I am Vanessa Guillen act’
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A bill named after Army specialist Vanessa Guillen, who was allegedly murdered at the Fort Hood Army base last year, was reintroduced Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Guillen, 20, was allegedly killed by another soldier at the Killeen, Texas, base on April 22, 2020. Her family says she told them she’d been sexually harassed by a sergeant months before her death.
California Rep. Jackie Speier and Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin are championing the bipartisan I Am Vanessa Guillen Act, which seeks to reform the way the military handles sexual assault and harassment cases.
I am Vanessa Guillén Act reintroduced: ‘We must save those who are saving our lives’
The bill would take cases of sexual assault outside the military chain of command over a year after Guillén, a Houston native, went missing from Fort Hood.
Mayra Guillen, second from left, and Lupe Guillen, second from right, sisters of 20-year-old murder victim U.S. Army Private First Class Vanessa Guillen, speak outside on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 13, 2021, during an event to reintroduction the I am Vanessa Guillen Act. Also participating in the event are Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right.(Susan Walsh)