HOUSTON — A new neighborhood was canvassed Wednesday outside Fort Hood as the search continues for Vanessa Guillen, the missing soldier from Houston.
Texas Equusearch went door to door passing out flyers in that neighborhood near the base, because they believe someone may have information that can help find Guillen.
As the searches continue, the Guillen family is sparking a national conversation on social media.
"No woman should be seen as a sexual object," said Lupe Guillen at a press conference outside Fort Hood Tuesday. "The #iamvanessaguillen is to encourage the woman who have and are passing through sexual harassment because they are the ones risking their lives for us."
Using the hashtag, survivors are sharing their stories of sexual harassment in the military.
"It's something the military needs to get their head out of the sand and seriously address," said Colonel Don Christensen, U.S. Air Force (ret.).
Christensen is president of the non-profit Protect Our Defenders.
"It destroys the camaraderie you should have in an organization. It devalues what women bring to the service, and it leads often to violence," Christensen said.
Close to 25 percent of women in active duty said they were sexually harassed in 2018, according to the Department of Defense.
In Guillen's case, Christensen said the right thing to do would be to transfer the case to local authorities.
"The army has demonstrated from the beginning it didn't take this seriously, and they just aren't getting results," he said.
The Guillen family said Vanessa Guillen told them she was sexually harassed by a superior before she went missing. They claim the army has been slow to investigate and for the first time this week said they suspect foul play in her disappearance.