By Lolita C. Baldor
Associated Press
Reports of sexual assaults in the US military rose 13% last year, following significant upticks in the Army and Navy that come as military bases abandoned many COVID-19 restrictions and open sites. reopened to the public, according to The Associated Press news agency.
At the same time, about 36,000 service members disclosed in a confidential survey that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact, a dramatic increase over the roughly 20,000 who said the same in a similar 2018 survey, according to Defense Department officials.
Congress has criticized the Pentagon for tolerating sexual crimes and misconduct in the military and recently passed the 'I am Vanessa Guillen' law in honor of the Latina soldier killed at Fort Hood, Texas, to protect victims of violence sexual.
The Pentagon seen from an aerial shot in a file photo from January 26, 2020. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
Complaints against Army soldiers rose nearly 26%, the biggest increase since 2013, when those reports jumped 51%, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal a report that has not yet been made public.
According to officials, the overall increase is largely due to a nearly 26% increase in reports involving Army soldiers.
It's the biggest increase for that service since 2013, when such reports jumped 51%.
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In the Navy, the increase in sexual assault complaints was 9%;
in the Air Force it is just over 2% and in the Marine Corps it is less than 2%, according to the sources consulted.
The uptick is especially troublesome for the Army, which is struggling to meet its recruiting goal and is expected to fall short by about 10,000 recruits by the end of September.
Senior military commanders recognize that it is important for the parents of new recruits and themselves to feel that they are in a safe environment and that they will be protected within the service.
COVID-19 and pandemic restrictions complicate year-to-year comparisons.
Officials explained that they do not know for sure how much the pandemic influenced reports of assaults and surveys.
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The Pentagon and the military services have long struggled to come up with programs to prevent sexual assault and encourage reporting.
While the military has made strides to make it easier and safer for service members to speak out, they have had far less success in reducing assaults, which have increased nearly every year since 2006.
In the fiscal year ending September 2020, reports of sexual assault and unwanted sexual contact increased 1%, when most of the country was under stay-at-home orders.
The previous year, reports increased by approximately 3%, a substantial improvement over 2018, which also saw a 13% increase.
The Pentagon publishes a report each year on the number of sexual assaults reported within military corporations.
But the Department of Defense has started conducting an anonymous and confidential survey every two years to get a better picture of the problem, because sexual assault is an underreported crime.
The 2018 survey found that more than 20,000 service members said they experienced some form of sexual assault, but only a third of them filed a formal report.
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The latest report, expected to be released Thursday, estimates that about 35,800 service members experienced some form of sexual assault in the past year, according to the confidential survey.
That means only one in five service members reported an incident.
Officials familiar with the findings said respondents also said they felt less happy in their workplace and had experienced more sexual harassment, which can sometimes lead to other assaults.
They also argued that
the increase in the number of complaints is a positive trend
because it reflects a growing confidence of service members to speak out against misconduct.
They argued that a higher number of complaints shows that there is more trust in the system and that victims feel more satisfied with the support provided to them.
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In any case, it is not clear if the increase in complaints is an indicator of a problem that is getting worse or that the alleged victims were more willing to report.
The Pentagon has been under persistent pressure from Congress to do better at preventing attacks and bringing justice to victims.
Lawmakers approved a historic reform last year in honor of Vanessa Guillén, which removes her authority to prosecute a case of alleged assault on military commanders, instead instituting independent prosecutors.
Victims' rights advocates and other experts have argued that service members do not trust the system and
are often unwilling to go to their commanders with a complaint for fear of retaliation
.
They are also concerned that the commanders will decide not to take the case to trial if they are close to the accused.
For this reason, the congressmen argued that the use of independent prosecutors would make the process more fair and impartial and that victims would feel more comfortable filing a complaint.
