The Reporter (Lansdale, PA)

Reports of unwanted sexual contact up at Coast Guard Academy

- By Jennifer Mcdermott Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contribute­d to this report.

Almost half of female cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy said they were sexually harassed, and about one in eight women reported experienci­ng unwanted sexual contact, according to a Pentagon survey released Wednesday.

The anonymous 2018 gender relations survey completed by cadets at the school in New London, Connecticu­t, shows that 45% of women and 17% of men said they experience­d sexual harassment, up from 36% and 11%, respective­ly, in 2016.

And 12.4% of women said they experience­d unwanted sexual contact, up from 8% in 2016.

The percentage of men saying they experience­d unwanted sexual contact, which includes sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and unwanted sexual touching, was 3.6%, up from 1% in 2016.

The percentage of cadets experienci­ng unwanted sexual contact is the highest since the survey began a decade ago. Officials noted that the increases could at least partially reflect a greater willingnes­s to report misconduct as a result of the Coast Guard’s focus on the problem and new training programs.

The survey, conducted every two years, comes after an already tough year for the Coast Guard Academy. Lawmakers have criticized its handling of racial discrimina­tion and harassment, and the college is the subject of a congressio­nal investigat­ion into harassment, bullying and discrimina­tion against minority cadets.

All the U.S. military academies are “facing a sexual assault crisis, and we are asleep at the wheel,” Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, said in June. She is trying to create a four-year pilot program for independen­t prosecutor­ial review of all sexual assault reports at the academies.

Most instances of unwanted sexual contact at the Coast Guard Academy involved cadets in the same class year, with 65% of women and 85% of men saying the alleged offender was a classmate, according to the survey. Most occurred in a dorm or living area at the academy. Seventy percent of women and 92% of men didn’t report what happened to authoritie­s, the survey said.

About 1,100 cadets attend the academy, and 77% of them filled out the survey in March 2018. It asked about their academy experience­s since June 2017.

The academy released the survey, which was conducted by the Defense Department’s Office of People Analytics. The numbers are in line with data released this year from the other military academies.

That earlier survey found that among female students at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies, 15.8% said they experience­d unwanted sexual contact in the past year, up from 12.2% in 2016, and that 2.4% of men experience­d unwanted sexual contact, up from 1.7%. An estimated 50% of women and 16% of men experience­d sexual harassment in the past year, similar to 2016.

The Coast Guard Academy survey showed that 30% of women who experience­d unwanted sexual contact reported it, marking the first time the reporting rate among women climbed above 10%. Men had an 8% reporting rate. In past years, the reporting rate for men was so low it couldn’t be counted.

The academy’s sexual assault response coordinato­r, Shannon Norenberg, credited the growing rate to growth in the school’s Cadets Against Sexual Assault club, which typically includes about 20% of the student population. Cadets who join are trained to receive reports of sexual assault and be a resource for their peers.

A 2018 campaign to educate cadets about what sexual harassment is may have contribute­d to the increase in sexual harassment reports, she added. Norenberg, however, said the numbers still concern her.

She talks to all incoming freshmen about how to report sexual assault. Last year, she began also talking to them about what sexual consent means and discussing healthy relationsh­ips with juniors.

“I think we’re focusing our efforts in the right direction and in the right way,” she said.

The head of the Coast Guard, Adm. Karl Schultz, told The Associated Press in March that unwanted sexual contact throughout the service is “unacceptab­le.” Schultz said he had discussed the preliminar­y survey results with the academy’s superinten­dent, which showed the same increases as the final report.

The Coast Guard, he said, is trying to create an “environmen­t of intoleranc­e” toward sexual misconduct, where no one is allowed to be a bystander.

“Am I concerned about the 12.4% increase? Absolutely. Because I want to drive sexual assault, unwanted sexual contact to zero in the Coast Guard,” Schultz said. “Will we do that in my lifetime? I don’t know, but we’re going to continue to lean in from a leadership standpoint.”

The report also showed that 28% of female cadets reported experienci­ng gender discrimina­tion in 2018, up from 11% in 2016, while 6% of male cadets reported experienci­ng gender discrimina­tion, up from 4% in 2016.

On a positive note, the vast majority of cadets reported intervenin­g if they observed a potentiall­y risky situation, and there were fewer cases of unwanted sexual contact involving alcohol than in 2016.

Most cadets, 62% of women and 76% of men, believe the academy’s senior leadership make honest and reasonable efforts to stop unwanted sexual contact and sexual harassment, though those percentage­s are down from 80% and 86%, respective­ly, in the 2016 survey.

Rear Adm. William Kelly, the new academy superinten­dent, said officials are focused on providing the safest environmen­t possible and will use the insight from the Office of People Analytics and the Coast Guard’s sexual assault prevention experts to eradicate such behaviors and threats from campus.

 ?? SEAN D. ELLIOT — THE DAY VIA AP, FILE ?? In this file photo, female swabs learn the positions of attention and parade rest while their male classmates get haircuts during the first day of a seven-week orientatio­n for the Class of 2023 at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Released Wednesday a Pentagon report from an anonymous 2018 gender relations survey shows that almost half of female cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy said they experience­d sexual harassment and about one in eight women reported experienci­ng unwanted sexual contact.
SEAN D. ELLIOT — THE DAY VIA AP, FILE In this file photo, female swabs learn the positions of attention and parade rest while their male classmates get haircuts during the first day of a seven-week orientatio­n for the Class of 2023 at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Released Wednesday a Pentagon report from an anonymous 2018 gender relations survey shows that almost half of female cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy said they experience­d sexual harassment and about one in eight women reported experienci­ng unwanted sexual contact.
 ?? JESSICA HILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE ?? In this file photo, future United State Coast Guard graduates arrive at the commenceme­nt ceremony in New London, Conn. Released Wednesday a Pentagon report from an anonymous 2018 gender relations survey shows that almost half of female cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy said they experience­d sexual harassment and about one in eight women reported experienci­ng unwanted sexual contact.
JESSICA HILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE In this file photo, future United State Coast Guard graduates arrive at the commenceme­nt ceremony in New London, Conn. Released Wednesday a Pentagon report from an anonymous 2018 gender relations survey shows that almost half of female cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy said they experience­d sexual harassment and about one in eight women reported experienci­ng unwanted sexual contact.

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