( CNN ) -- Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has announced new initiatives to curtail what he calls `` the epidemic '' of rape and sexual assaults in our armed forces . In 2010 , an estimated 19,000 service members were raped or sexually assaulted by other service members . Clearly , more resources devoted to counseling for victims and training for prosecutors and judges will help . But the incidence of unpunished rapes will continue and so will the damaging effects these illegal acts have on troop morale and preparedness . This epidemic requires an overhaul of the military justice system . The military 's chain of command structure keeps most cases of rape and sexual assault from reaching the prosecution level . According to a Defense Department study , only 8 % of sexual assailants are referred to military court , compared with 40 % of similar offenders prosecuted in the civilian court system . The case of Army Spc . Andrea Neutzling of Ohio is a sad testimony to a justice system gone wrong . According to Neutzling , in 2002 , while serving in South Korea , she was sexually assaulted by an intoxicated soldier she knew . She reported the assault to her commander , who gave the assailant a slap on the wrist punishment of five days of base restriction . Three years later in New Jersey , preparing for deployment to Iraq with a military police unit , she was again assaulted by a fellow soldier . Fearing nothing would happen if she reported the attack , Neutzling instead kept the incident to herself . A month later in Iraq , she said she was raped by two soldiers who threatened to beat her if she struggled . Although she suffered serious bodily injuries from the rape , she chose not to report it ; instead she slept on a cot with her rifle pointed toward the door for the first few days after the attack . Soon , the chaplain was told about the attack by a woman in Neutzling 's unit who reported that the perpetrators were showing a video of the rape to others . But her chaplain did n't believe her , later telling Neutzling , `` You do n't act like a rape victim . '' The commander said it was a `` they said , she said '' situation , and because she was married at the time of the incident , he threatened to charge her with adultery . The men who raped Neutzling were never charged , investigated or penalized . In the current military chain of command structure , Neutzling 's commander and staff sergeant did nothing wrong . Commanders can decide whether to investigate and issue virtually any punishment or , in this case , no punishment at all -- they have complete authority and discretion over how a degrading and violent assault is handled . Marine Cpl . Sarah Albertson suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder , but not because of her service in Falluja , Iraq . According to Albertson , she was raped at a California base by a fellow Marine who outranked her . When she reported the assault to her commander , she was ordered to keep quiet and to continue following her assailant 's orders . The rapist was promoted , but she lost her security clearance and subsequently left the Marines . Albertson and Neutzling are two of 28 plaintiffs in a lawsuit against former secretaries of state Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates that accuses the military of failing to prevent or prosecute instances of rape and sexual assault . In the U.S. military , a woman is more likely to be raped by a co-worker than killed by the enemy . The epidemic infects every branch of the armed services , includes female and male victims , and extends to the military academies , which reported that 520 cadets and midshipmen experienced unwanted sexual contact during the 2009-2010 academic year . Male service members are not immune to rape or sexual assault . In a 2010 survey of 14,000 active-duty service men , 126 anonymously reported unwanted sexual contact by a male or female co-worker in the past 12 months . A more disturbing statistic speaks to the distrust that servicemen and women have in the military 's ability to investigate and fairly prosecute alleged rapists and perpetrators of sexual assault . Only 13.5 % of victims actually report the crimes . Victims deserve an impartial investigation and the opportunity to have perpetrators tried in a military court of law . My bill , the STOP Act ( H.R . 3435 ) , takes complete authority and discretion out of the hands of commanders and gives that authority to objective experts . The bipartisan STOP Act creates a new office of oversight and response to handle all possible cases of rape and sexual assault in the military , enabling unbiased personnel to determine the appropriate path of action for each report . The office would be housed in the Department of Defense and staffed by civilian and military experts trained to manage investigations of sexual assault . My proposal is not unique to modern defense forces . Several of our closest allies have instituted meaningful reforms to manage cases of rape and sexual assault in their military . The United Kingdom has largely transferred authority in military sexual assault cases to independent , impartial civilian personnel . Australia and Canada allow aggrieved service men and women to lodge complaints and access external agencies . All three countries strive to keep their internal military adjudication process independent from the influence of the military chain of command . We need to do the same . Follow CNN Opinion on Twitter . Join the conversation on Facebook . The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Jackie Speier .
Jackie Speier : Most cases of reported rape go untried ; only 13.5 % even reported . Speier : In 2010 , 19,000 service members raped or sexually assaulted by other members . Commanders have sole authority whether to investigate or issue punishment , she writes . Speier : Victims deserve an impartial investigation and cases tried in a military court .