Guillen’s bodily remains were discovered in July 2020 after the man who had murdered her died by suicide. Further investigation revealed that she was also sexually harassed during her time at the U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas, which affected her mental health significantly.

More than two years later, on Friday, August 12, 2022, Vanessa Guillen’s family filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, seeking $35 million in damages. The lawsuit came after a three-judge panel from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided in San Francisco on Thursday, August 11, that an Army colonel could proceed with a lawsuit against a former Air Force General over a sexual assault allegation.

The Guillen family is seeking damages for their daughter’s sexual harassment, abuse, assault, rape, sodomy and wrongful death at the hands of the army.

The lawsuit states:

Natalie Khawam, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Vanessa Guillen’s family, said:

Vanessa Guillen’s case is a massive step forward for sexual assault victims in the military

In a profession that has historically been male-dominated, female victims of assault and harassment are silenced every day. Fear of retaliation haunts victims who are forced to keep quiet or face the wrath of such institutions.

Guillen was also forced into silence because she feared the consequences. The lawsuit filed by the Guillen family mentions at least two incidents of sexuall harassment faced by the young soldier at her base camp.

According to her sister Mayra Guillen,

These events severely impacted Guillen’s mental health, to the point where she had repeated thoughts about killing herself. Her cold-blooded murder shed light on the perilous environment in which women soldiers worked. Several military personnel and former soldiers shared their own experiences of facing harassment in the base camps using the hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen.

The tragic death of the Fort Hood soldier inspired the Military Justice Reform Bill, which will strip all authority from military commanders and will instead provide independent prosecutors with agency when allegations of sexual assault and other serious crimes are made.

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