--- title: Sen. Martha McSally Says She Revealed Her Rape to Empower Survivors description: Sen. Martha McSally, who said she was raped while serving in the Air Force, said on CBS she hopes her story will empower other survivors. canonical: https://time.com/5546945/martha-mcsally-cbs-interview/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-07T15:22:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:24:33.965Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sen. Martha McSally Says She Revealed Her Rape to Empower Other Survivors og:description: She said she was raped while serving in the Air Force og:url: https://time.com/5546945/martha-mcsally-cbs-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7f3034ca50a09d1/6989465d096a944af76a4b4f/martha-mcsally.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Senate Armed Services Committee Holds Hearing On Sexual Assaults In The Military og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sen. Martha McSally Says She Revealed Her Rape to Empower Other Survivors twitter:description: She said she was raped while serving in the Air Force twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7f3034ca50a09d1/6989465d096a944af76a4b4f/martha-mcsally.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Don't Let Your Assaulter Rob You of Your Future': Sen. Martha McSally Revealed Her Rape to Empower Survivors > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c8d0ab45-d9f4-4092-b175-da4bae99014d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Sen. Martha McSally, Pioneering Ex-Air Force Pilot, Says She Was Raped by Superior Officer [Watch (HLS stream): Sen. Martha McSally, Pioneering Ex-Air Force Pilot, Says She Was Raped by Superior Officer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/F6TUb8wf.m3u8) (3:11)  _Published 2019-03-06. Sen. Martha McSally, Pioneering Ex-Air Force Pilot, Says She Was Raped by Superior Officer_  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 7, 2019 3:22 PM UTC  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 7, 2019 3:22 PM UTC Arizona Sen. Martha McSally called for an end to sexual assault in the military during an interview one day after she [revealed during a Senate hearing](http://time.com/5546415/martha-mcsally-air-force-rape/) Wednesday that she was raped while serving in the Air Force. “It’s not just as a commander that I speak, but it’s as a survivor. I just felt that I needed to talk about it. But it isn’t about me, ” McSally said on [C_BS This Morning_](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/martha-mcsally-arizona-senator-reveals-she-was-raped-by-senior-officer-while-in-the-air-force/) Thursday. “The command chain has to step up and do their job to rid us of sexual assault.” McSally, who was the first female Air Force fighter pilot to fly in combat, first spoke about her sexual assault Wednesday during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about sexual assault prevention and response. During the hearing, McSally said she was “preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer” — a trauma she said did not report for years. When she did report it, she told CBS, it felt like “the system was raping me all over again.” > [](https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1103638787907903489) Speaking with CBS’ Norah O’Donnell, McSally called prevalent sexual assault in the military a national security issue that needs to be handled better, and stressed that keeping women out of the military is not the solution. “If you have a predator, if you have a rapist, who’s serving in uniform, you don’t deal with it by keeping a woman out of their unit — because that predator is going to go attack someone else,” McSally said. In a statement provided to the Associated Press Wednesday, Air Force Spokesperson Capt. Carrie Volpe said, “The criminal actions reported today by Senator McSally violate every part of what it means to be an Airman. We stand behind her and all victims of sexual assault. We are steadfast in our commitment to eliminate this reprehensible behavior and breach of trust in our ranks.” McSally, a 26-year military veteran, said talking about her assault has been difficult, but an important way to bring attention to a pervasive problem. “Don’t let your assaulter rob you of your future. Don’t do it,” McSally said. “The more that people in public profile positions like me can share that we, too, have been through this, I think it helps — I hope it helps — inspire others to get through their own dark times.” > [](https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1103660042665017346) More of McSally’s interview will be aired on CBS on Friday. ## Transcript Like you, I am also a military sexual assault survivor. But unlike so many brave survivors, I didn't report being sexually assaulted. Like so many women and men, I didn't trust the system at the time. I blame myself, I was ashamed and confused. And I thought I was strong but felt powerless. The perpetrators abuse their position of power in profound ways. And in one case, I was preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer. I stayed silent for many years but later in my career. As the military grapple with scandals and their wholly inadequate responses, I felt the need to let some people know I too was a survivor. I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences were handled. I almost separated from the Air Force at 18 years. Over my despair. Like many victims, I felt the system was raping me all over again. But I didn't quit, I decided to stay and continue to serve and fight, and lead, to be a voice from within the ranks for women, and then in the House, and now in the Senate. So this is personal for me too. But it's personal from two perspectives. As a commander who led my airman into combat and as a survivor of rape and betrayal. I share the disgust of the failures of the military system many commanders who failed in their responsibilities. But as for this very reason that we must allow, we must demand that commanders stay at the center of the solution and live up to the moral and legal responsibilities that come with being a commander. We must fix those distortions in the culture of our military that permit sexual harm towards women. And yes some men as well. We must educate, select and then further educate commanders who wants to do the right thing but who are naive to the realities of sexual assault. We must ensure that all commanders are trained and are powered to take legal action prosecute fairly and rid perpetrators from our ranks. And if the commander is the problem or fails in his or her duties, they must be removed and held harshly accountable. There are many commanders who would welcome taking this responsibility off their plate. Those are the very commanders we don't want leading our troops. We cannot command change from the outside alone, it must be the deployed from within. It must be built and constantly maintained and expertly manage by commanders who are themselves educated, conditioned and given the tools to ensure what you survived and what I survived happens to warrior under their command. To that end, I very strongly believe that the commander must not be removed from the decision making responsibility of preventing detecting and prosecuting military sexual assault. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5546945/martha-mcsally-cbs-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5546945/martha-mcsally-cbs-interview/"},"headline":"'Don't Let Your Assaulter Rob You of Your Future': Sen. 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