DOD: Military Sexual Assaults Increase

The number of reported sexual assaults involving military service members increased during the 2012 fiscal year over the previous year. According to the 2012 Annual Report of Sexual Assault in the Military, "there were a total of 3,374 reports of sexual assault involving service members as victims or subjects" in fiscal year 2012, an increase of 182 reports from the fiscal year before, according to a Department of Defense news release. The same information from the DoD can be found here.

While that number may be enough to anger many, it is by no means the worst part. According to a New York Times article, the estimated number is closer to 26,000 assaults, up from 19,000 in 2010. A Tampa Bay Times editorial also states that the "Defense Department estimates that 26,000" service members were sexually assaulted last year, then goes on to state that many "[v]ictims don't come forward out of fear of retribution or because they think the military is unlikely to prosecute under its current system..." (This is also seen in civilian life as well.)

Representative C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla) stated in an email that he found the survey number (26,000) "very disturbing," along with a link to a recent column he had in Friday's edition of the Tampa Bay Times. In his column, Young states, "Clearly the funds we are investing in this program are not helping to solve this deplorable problem. That is why I asked the leadership of the secretary of defense's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office...to...brief the members of our subcommittee on defense to tell us what is wrong with this program and the military culture and what we can do to fix it."

Meanwhile, a Yahoo News article ("House panel seeks to curb military sexual assaults") states that a House panel plans to "approve a series of revisions to longstanding military law." Once approved, these revisions would "be folded into the Armed Services Committee's broader defense police bill for the 2014 fiscal year." The Senate Armed Services Committee is also working on measures to address sexual assault issues over the next month.