The numbers from 2018 paint a bleak picture of a U.S. military culture that has left senior Defense Department officials grappling to find effective methods to stem the surge of assaults.
Despite Pentagon efforts to curtail sexual assaults among the rank-and-file of the U.S. military, a new Defense Department report shows the number of sexual assaults increased significantly in 2018, to more than 20,000.
The data shows more than 85 percent of sexual assault survivors knew their assailant and alcohol was involved in 62 percent of the total assaults. Sexual assault reporting remained steady between fiscal year 2016 and 2018, with the report indicating about one in three service members choosing to report their assault to the chain of command. The entire Defense Department report can be read at the bottom of this article.
Pentagon officials vowed Thursday to make changes in its sexual assault prevention efforts while instituting new measures to curtail the surge of sexual assaults. “To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other,” Shanahan said in the letter. “This is unacceptable. We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on. We must, and will, do better.”
The Marines said in a statement to Newsweek they have historically viewed increases in reporting as an indicator more Marines feel empowered to report their assaults but added the Marine Corps must “evolve its prevention methods and continue to foster a climate and culture of dignity, respect, and trust.”
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