ACADEMIES SEE RISE IN ASSAULT REPORTS
Reported sexual assaults at U.S. military academies shot up during the 2021-22 school year, and 1 in 5 female students told an anonymous survey that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact, the Pentagon said Friday.
The survey results were the highest since the Defense Department began collecting that data.
Defense and military leaders said student-reported assaults at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies jumped 18 percent overall compared with the previous year. Calling the increase “extremely disappointing and upsetting,” defense officials said teams are visiting all three academies this month to try to target improvements and changes to address the problem.
The increase was driven largely by the Navy, which had nearly double the number of reported assaults in 2022, compared with 2021. It’s unclear whether the phasing out of COVID-19-related restrictions contributed to the increase, including at the U.S. Naval Academy, which is directly adjacent to bars in downtown Annapolis, Md.
A student survey accompanying the report found increases in all types of unwanted sexual contact — from touching to rape — at all the schools. And it cites alcohol as a key factor. The report was released Friday.
The military services and the academies have struggled for years to combat sexual assault and harassment, with myriad prevention, education and treatment programs. But despite reams of research, and expanded programs, the numbers continue to grow.
The increases have triggered outrage on Capitol Hill and a steady stream of legislation. But as yet, the changes have not appeared to make a dent in the problem, although officials argue that expanded assistance programs have encouraged more victims to report the crimes.
According to U.S. officials, 155 students reported assaults during the 2022 school year, compared with 131 the previous year. Of those, students at the U.S. Naval Academy reported 61 — nearly double the school’s total for the previous year, when there were 33, which was by far the lowest of all the academies for that year.
Not all of the assaults in the report happened while the students were enrolled in the academies. Because students are encouraged to report assaults, they sometimes will come forward to talk about events that happened in the years before they started school there. As a result, 16 students reported an assault in the 2021-22 school year that occurred prior to joining the military.
As well, 35 cases involved civilians, active-duty service members and prep school students who allegedly were assaulted by someone who was a student. Altogether, the total number of reported assaults with any connection to a student was 206 — about 28 percent higher than last year’s total of 161.