Reports
of sexual assaults by members of the military shot-up 50% in the past year,
according to the Pentagon’s annual report
released last week. But that sharp increase could be a result of a vigorous
campaign to make victims feel more comfortable to come forward about being
sexually assaulted, officials say.
“There
is no indication that this increase in reporting constitutes an increase in
crime,” said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Snow, director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
Office. “We assess that this unprecedented increase is consistent with a
growing confidence in the response systems.”
The
campaign to raise awareness included plastering contact information for sexual
assault prevention officers across military bases, especially inside bathroom
stalls. And top military officers have traveled to bases around the world
speaking out on the issue.
Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel said that sexual assaults are a threat to both women and
men in the service, and that the Pentagon should do more to combat a culture
that discourages victims from stepping forward.
In
particular, Defense officials aim to encourage more men to report sexual
assaults, which can be a challenge because male victims often worry that coming
forward will make people think they are weak and trigger questions about their
sexual orientation.
In
most cases, however, assault is an issue of power of abuse rather than sexual
orientation.
“There
is still a misperception that this is a women’s issue and women’s crime,” said
Nate Galbreath, the senior executive adviser for the Pentagon’s sexual assault
prevention office. “It’s disheartening that we have such a differential between
the genders and how they are choosing to report.”
The Associated Press reports that 14% of the cases in
the Pentagon report involved male victims.
The
military has long struggled with the issue of victims not reporting sexual
assaults. Too often, victims have said they were afraid to report incidents to
ranking officers for fear of retribution, or said that their initial complaints
were outright ignored.
A
2012 anonymous survey found that about 26,000 service members said they were
the victim of some type of unwanted sexual contact or assault. That same survey
found that, by the raw numbers, 14,000 men reported having been sexually
assaulted compared to 12,000 women.
Secretary
Hagel is ordering six new initiatives, including efforts to get more male
victims to come forward and a review of alcohol sales and policies. He says the
review must address the risks of alcohol being used as a weapon by predators.
Hagel
will also press for a renewed emphasis on prevention and the need to take some
of the programs various services have been conducting and use them across the
military.
Those
include programs that urge troops to intervene when they see a fellow service
member in trouble or being harassed. There may also be an effort to work with
bars and stores that sell alcohol around the bases to educate their employees,
offer menus when they serve drinks and review hours of liquor sales.
Prosecutions
of sexual assault perpetrators who were subject to the military justice system
have also increased, increasing from 66% in 2012 to 73% in 2013 – of course,
there’s still room for improvement.
You
can read more on this issue in the Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201405011358/NATION/305010058
