Senators urge release of sex assault data

Pentagon has delayed a report that rates the risks at military bases

WASHINGTON – Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Republican Sen. Joni Ernst are demanding that the Pentagon release a report that rates the risk of sexual assault at military bases around the world.

Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Ernst, RIowa, wrote to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis after USA TODAY reported that the Pentagon has delayed release of the report for months, citing the methodology used by the nonpartisan, federally funded RAND Corp. RAND stands by the report, and a spokesman said its results have been peer-reviewed.

“Transparency and accountability are critical in addressing the continued challenge of sexual assault in the military,” wrote Gillibrand and Ernst, who are members of the Armed Services Committee. “Since this type of information is available, the Department should not only release it, but also use it to better understand what it can do at the installation level to be more effective in preventing and responding to sexual assault.”

The report’s findings probably will cause controversy at military bases that run the highest risk of sexual assault. The report’s authors relied on data and surveys collected in 2014.

“We should take advantage of the fact that RAND chose to take this additional step of using the data to assess risk,” the senators wrote.

Gillbrand’s office, in a statement, said that the senators’ letter “follows an alarming report by USA TODAY that the RAND study is already finished and has been ready for publication for months, but the Defense Department refuses to make it public, despite its repeated pledges that it is committed to solving the military’s sexual assault problem. The information in the report could be crucial in the fight against military sexual assault.”

The military has struggled to combat sexual assault in its ranks for decades. In 2014, a Pentagon survey of troops found that more than 20,000 troops had endured assaults ranging from groping to rape. Two years later, the number of troops reporting inappropriate sexual contact had dipped below 15,000.

The 2014 survey sparked congressional hearings that featured appearances by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Legislation followed, including changes in the way the military treats victims and prosecutes those accused of sex crimes.