DoD: Reports of sex assault up in 2009

WASHINGTON (WAVY) - The Department of Defense says reports of sexual assaults in the military rose 11 percent last year.

The finding was part of the "2009 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military" released Tuesday.

In fiscal 2009, the report indicates there were a total of 3230 restricted and unrestricted reports of sexual assault filed involving military members as either victims or subjects. The military says that's an 11 percent increase from fiscal 2008.

According to the report, there were 714 restricted reports filed in fiscal 2009. Under the restricted (confidential) reporting option, service members may choose to obtain medical, mental health care and other services without becoming involved in the military criminal justice process. The report says 123 victims converted their reports from restricted to unrestricted, which is included in the overall total of 2516 unrestricted reports.

"One sexual assault is too many. As such, the best way to combat sexual assault is to prevent it," said Clifford L. Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

The report was released by the Defense Department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO).

An increase in reporting was a goal for the department, said Kaye Whitley, director SAPRO.

"Research in the civilian community shows that sexual assault is widely underreported, and we believe that is the same in the military," she said in an interview with the American Forces Press Service. "As a result, increasing reporting has been one of our key goals. We want people who are victims of sexual assault to come forward so they can get the help that they need." The department's goal is to create a "climate of confidence" so that people will come forward to report, she added.

Whitley said the number of sexual assaults in the military probably is comparable to the civilian community, but that direct comparisons are hard to make. The overall rate for the Defense Department was two reports of sexual assault per thousand servicemembers. In the Army, the rate was 2.6 per thousand. In the Navy it was 1.6 per thousand, in the Air Force 1.4 per thousand, and in the Marine Corps 1.3 per thousand. Service-specific data, including the total numbers of reports, is included in the annual report.

"Our total number includes both perpetrators and victims," Whitley said. The data covers eight categories of sexual assault ranging from the least-egregious wrongful sexual contact to rape.

"We need to keep in mind that these are reports where the victim or the perpetrator was a military member," Whitley said. The reports include sexual assaults reported that involved a military member against a military member, a military member against a civilian or a civilian against a military member, she explained.

Click here to access the 2009 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military.

(Portions compiled from report by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service)