ABOUT SISTERS in SILENCE (SIS)

SISTERS in SILENCE (SIS) was founded by Trinity A. Sunshine, a proud US Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer (retired). With a 22-year career that was marred by personal experiences of sexual assault and rape, Trinity found herself isolated with no one to turn to. These harrowing experiences led to diagnoses of Military Sexual Trauma (MST), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression.

From these deeply personal trials, SiS was born — an organization dedicated to fundamentally transforming the landscape of military sexual trauma reporting among women veterans and women first responders, ensuring that military sexual predators are held accountable and brought to justice.

The military oath of all veterans to “protect our country from enemies, foreign and domestic,” should not be taken carelessly. Military sexual predators are our country’s domestic enemy, and they must be prosecuted to the full extent of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and all other legal enforcement entities.

We stand in the gap for the silenced, providing a platform for voices that have been stifled under the weight of fear and retribution. Uncoverable stories and daunting statistics drive us, but we are relentless in our pursuit of change for women veterans and women first responders.

A shocking revelation came to light in a 2011 report, stating that “Women in the US military were more likely to be raped by fellow soldiers than were to be killed in combat.” Such a reality is not just appalling but intolerable. Women veterans and women first responders face mortal danger not just from external conflicts but from within their ranks. The environment where silence can mean survival must change.

Our resolve is only strengthened by the harrowing data and stories emerging from within the military. For instance, reports highlight that one in ten female sailors experienced unwanted sexual contact in fiscal year 2021, marking one of the worst rates among the service branches. Even more distressingly, the percentage of women assaulted rose to 8.4% in 2022, up from 6.8% in 2006. These are not just numbers; they are a call for urgent action.

Here are some reports from the New York Times and the New York Post.