Protect Our Defenders and Volare have announced a new partnership designed to expand access to independent, pro bono legal representation for military-connected survivors of sexual assault. The collaboration comes at a moment of heightened scrutiny of the military justice system, as cases tied to Fort Hood and other high-profile incidents continue to raise concerns about how survivors are treated when they come forward.
The effort brings together two organizations with complementary roles. Protect Our Defenders, a national advocacy organization, has spent more than a decade working directly with survivors while pushing for systemic reforms within the military. Volare, a nonprofit focused on victims’ rights, operates a national pro bono network that connects survivors with trained attorneys.
Together, the organizations aim to address a persistent gap: many survivors have legal rights on paper but lack the representation needed to enforce them in practice.
A System that Leaves Survivors Without Meaningful Support
Despite years of reform, survivors of sexual assault in the military often face a system that is difficult to navigate and, at times, actively discouraging. Nancy Parrish, founder and CEO of Protect Our Defenders, said that although service members are legally entitled to support, many still go through the process without effective legal guidance.
“When a service member is raped, the law says they’re entitled to legal support. And too often, they never get it,” Parrish said during an interview with Military.com.
Even when legal assistance is provided, it may fall short of what survivors need. Parrish described situations where survivors are assigned inexperienced attorneys or must navigate complex investigative and administrative processes without consistent guidance. Survivors can find themselves pulled into meetings with multiple officials, asked invasive questions, and left uncertain about their rights or next steps, all while trying to manage the emotional impact of the trauma itself.
Bridgette Stumpf, CEO and co-founder of Volare, emphasized that these challenges are compounded by the structure of the military justice system itself. Unlike civilian systems, where survivors can pursue both criminal and civil remedies, military-connected survivors often face a narrower set of options and a more complex legal framework.
“They’re navigating one of the most complex justice systems in our country,” Stumpf said.
The Scope of the Problem and Its Lasting Effects
The scale of sexual assault in the military remains significant. According to the Department of Defense’s annual report on sexual assault, thousands of servicemembers experience unwanted sexual contact each year, though many incidents go unreported. Parrish noted that roughly one in four women in the military experience sexual assault during their service, while about one in ten men report similar experiences.
Reporting does not necessarily lead to relief. Service members who report sexual assault frequently face retaliation, including damage to their careers or social standing within their units.
Parrish said more than half of survivors report experiencing some form of retaliation after coming forward, which contributes to a broader culture of fear and underreporting.
Stumpf described sexual assault in the military as an “iceberg problem,” noting official statistics likely represent only a fraction of actual incidents. The combination of stigma, fear of retaliation, and lack of trust in the system often discourages survivors from reporting at all.
What Protect Our Defenders and Volare Bring to the Table
Protect Our Defenders has built its work around both individual advocacy and systemic reform. The organization provides direct support to survivors navigating the military justice system while also working with lawmakers to strengthen legal protections. Its advocacy has contributed to multiple legislative changes aimed at improving accountability and protecting victims’ rights.
Since launching its legal services program, the organization has provided pro bono legal representation or case assistance to nearly 1,000 survivors, while more than 1,500 individuals have received legal guidance, advocacy, or referrals. Its network of trained attorneys has delivered approximately 29,000 hours of legal representation, totaling more than $25 million in services at no cost to survivors.
The organization has also pushed for changes to the Feres Doctrine, a Supreme Court–created rule that prevents service members from suing the federal government for injuries “incident to service.” That doctrine continues to limit survivors’ ability to seek civil accountability outside the military system.
Volare focuses on a different but equally critical piece of the problem: access to legal representation. Through its national pro bono network, the organization connects survivors with attorneys trained in victims’ rights and trauma-informed advocacy. Its work also includes appellate litigation and broader efforts to expand the enforcement of victims’ rights laws.
“Our organization was created to address a simple but critical gap,” Stumpf said. “Survivors have rights on paper, but they don’t have lawyers to enforce them.”
How the Partnership Will Work in Practice
Under the new partnership, Protect Our Defenders will continue to serve as the primary point of contact for survivors. Once a survivor reaches out, the case will be referred through a streamlined process to Volare, which will match the individual with an appropriate pro bono attorney.
The goal is to reduce delays and confusion while ensuring that survivors are connected quickly to lawyers with the right expertise. The partnership also includes expanded training programs for attorneys, covering both the specifics of the military justice system and the principles of trauma-informed legal practice.
“We don’t want to create confusion,” Stumpf said. “The goal is to streamline that connection to the local pro bono counsel.”
Closing a Persistent Capacity Gap
One of the most immediate challenges the partnership seeks to address is capacity. Protect Our Defenders currently turns away about 25% of survivors seeking legal assistance due to limited resources. By leveraging Volare’s network of law firms and attorneys, the organizations hope to close that gap and potentially expand services beyond current levels.
At the same time, both leaders expect demand to grow as awareness increases. Many survivors may not realize that independent legal representation is available outside the military system, and the partnership could bring more people forward to seek help.
Why Independent Legal Representation Matters
A central feature of the partnership is its emphasis on independent legal counsel. This means survivors will be provided attorneys who are not part of the military chain of command. Although reforms have established Special Victims’ Counsel within the military, those attorneys remain within the institution, and capacity constraints limit their availability.
Parrish and Stumpf both stressed that independence is critical to ensuring that survivors’ rights are fully represented. Prosecutors, they noted, are focused on the outcome of a case, which can create tension with the needs and priorities of survivors. Independent attorneys, by contrast, can focus solely on the survivor’s interests and ensure that their rights are enforced throughout the process.
Research supports this approach. Survivors’ satisfaction with the justice process depends less on the outcome and more on whether they feel heard and able to participate meaningfully, a role that effective legal representation can help facilitate.
Toward Accountability and Cultural Change
Both organizations view the partnership as part of a broader effort to improve accountability and shift the culture within the military. Legal reforms alone, they argue, are not enough; those reforms must be implemented effectively and supported by a system that prioritizes survivor protection.
“No one who serves this country should have to fight their own institution to seek justice,” Parrish said.
The partnership between Protect Our Defenders and Volare represents an attempt to make that principle a reality by ensuring that survivors are not left to navigate the system alone.
