Press Release - Readout of Department of Defense Secretary-designate Lloyd Austin & Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Denis McDonough's Virtual Meeting with Organizations Focused on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Assault

Today, Defense Secretary-designate Lloyd Austin and Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Denis McDonough joined representatives of several organizations for a virtual roundtable to discuss strategies around preventing and responding to sexual harassment and assault in the military, and caring for survivors during transition and beyond. Secretaries-designate Austin and McDonough thanked the advocates for their collective leadership and affirmed that addressing issues of military sexual trauma is a shared priority. Both designates affirmed that, if confirmed, they look forward to working with the attendees to develop and implement meaningful solutions that bring about real cultural change, prevent harassment and assaults, and support survivors. The designates committed to continued engagement, if confirmed, with each of the leaders attending the meeting, and others in the advocacy community, as they work to develop and implement solutions.

The Secretaries-designate were joined by:

• Joy Ilem, National Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans
• Lucy Del Gaudio, Program Manager, Minority Veterans of America
• Erin Kirk Cuomo, Co-Founder, Not in My Marine Corps
• Col. (Ret.) Don Christensen, President, Protect Our Defenders
• Capt. (Ret.) Lory Manning, Director of Government Relations, Service Women's Action Network