Records of rape and sexual assault inside the U.S. military increased to approximately 19,000 victims who were assaulted during the 2014 fiscal year, reported by a Pentagon study released on Thursday.
The investigation, ordered by President Barack Obama in a year when records of sexual assault in the military increased by 50 percent, determined that the Pentagon has made “comprehensive” progress in minimizing assault. It estimated there were 27percent fewer victims of sexual assault in 2014 compared to 2012, when an estimated 26,000 individuals were assaulted.
Advocates of reform, however, said the military’s key problems had hardly been touched.
The authors of this report also hailed efforts to guide victims in coming forward; saying 25 percent of victims now reported crimes against one out of 10 in 2012. In all, the Pentagon got 5,983 reports of sexual assault in 2014, as opposed to 3,393 in 2012.
Then again, 62percent of women who reported a criminal offense also said they experienced a form of retaliation for having spoken out, including social stigma from colleagues. The report’s authors also admitted that while victims largely felt supported by commanders, “response from others down the chain is not rated as highly.”
Brian Purchia, of the human rights group Protect Our Defenders, said the Pentagon had “cherry picked information and misled the president.”
“The military congratulates themselves, but the number that has not changed is that the few who report assault still suffer reprisals,” Purchia said. “What do you do if your attacker is going to walk free, or worse, receive a slap on the wrist, and then be back in your company? If retaliation is so prevalent and ongoing, how can you expect the justice system to work?”
This private survey discovered that women who experienced unwanted sexual contact declined from 6.1 percent in 2012 to 4.3 percent in 2014. The military specifies sexual assault along an array of offenses, including groping, using physical force, and rape. It considers “vulgar practices,” “inappropriate advances,” and “sexual bribery” to be forms of sexual harassment.
More than 1,000 pages long, the report details at length the 41 initiatives enacted by defense secretary Chuck Hagel and his predecessor, Leon Panetta. The initiatives include partnerships with advocacy groups, sexual assault response training, and a “special victims’ counsel” program for legal proceedings.
On issues of increased accountability, however, the Pentagon strongly resists any suggestion to take the military justice system out of its commanders’ hands. The report argues such a transfer would “degrade mission readiness [and] also diminish commanders’ effectiveness in the fight against sexual assault in the military.” Instead, the Pentagon says it has “modified” its justice system to require senior commanders’ involvement and better protect survivors.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who in March fought for a bill to separate sexual assault cases from the military’s chain of command, said on Tuesday that she hopes to revive it as Congress considers a new defense bill this week.
Colonel Don Christensen, who retired as chief prosecutor for the Air Force over the issue, said he had lost faith that he could change the system from the inside after seeing “commanders persecute victims while failing to prosecute predators.”
Also on Thursday, the Navy declared an investigation into secret tracks made on female sailors in a submarine’s shower areas. A 24-year-old male 2nd class petty officer is the subject of a criminal investigation for filming and disbursing videos of the women. The Navy integrated women into its active duty submarine crews for the very first time in 2011.
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