Figures released last week showing a 50 percent increase in the number of sexual assaults reported across the military’s branches are at once heartening and disturbing.
It is great to hear that more service members are coming forward to report these crimes, but it’s also a major concern that so many service members have to deal with this day-to-day culture of interpersonal violence in the United States’ armed forces.
According to early data reported by The Associated Press late last week, there were more than 5,000 reports of sexual assault filed during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, compared with 3,374 in 2012. Of the reports, about 10 percent involved incidents that occurred before the victim got into the military, up from just 4 percent a year ago. That increase, officials said, suggests that confidence in the system is growing and that victims are more willing to come forward.
This is hopefully proof that all the work Congress has been doing is working.
After some high-profile assaults and arrests in recent years, members of Congress expressed their outrage and brought the issue to the Capitol, debating how to change the military justice system. Military leaders also worked on the issue, launching a series of new programs intended to increase accountability and encouraging victims to come forward, according to the AP.
Despite the early numbers, military leaders say they are optimistic that the numbers reflect an increase in reporting and not necessarily assaults. Surveys, focus groups and the many meetings with service members throughout the year suggest that the number of actual incidents has remained steady.
“Given the multiple data points, we assess that this is more reporting,” said Col. Alan R. Metzler, deputy director of the Pentagon’s sexual assault prevention and response office, in an interview with the AP. He also said more victims are making official complaints, rather than just seeking medical care without filing formal accusations.
Although this data is encouraging, the military still has a long way to go in denouncing a culture where these crimes are commonplace.
Sexual assault ”“ including rape ”“ has been vastly underreported in the armed services. Earlier this year, military officials reported that an anonymous survey showed about 26,000 service members reported some type of unwanted sexual contact or sexual assault.
That is 26,000 too many.
Metzler agrees. He told the AP the goal for this year is to continue efforts to increase reporting while also working to directly reduce the number of assaults.
Already, leaders in the military’s branches are exchanging information on prevention programs that seem to be working, he said.
Air Force officials visited a Navy pilot program at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois that worked with local hotels and bars to try to crack down on drinking by sailors from the naval station there, the AP reported, and sailors are being taught to intervene when they see mates in trouble or engaging in bad behavior.
Jill Loftus, director of the Navy’s sexual assault program, said the goal this year will be to improve the training so that sailors will actually have to act out scenarios in order to help them figure out when it’s best to intervene and to ensure they have a plan before doing so.
Other programs are also being implemented to help educated service members about what constitutes sexual harassment and assault, and some commanders are making their courts martial more public, publicizing the punishments for crimes to help deter others from making the same decisions.
“We’re still not where we want things to be,” Metzler told the AP. “But we think all of this is having an effect.”
And it’s about time.
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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham Rousseau on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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