Sexual assault in the United States armed forces is an ongoing issue which has received extensive media coverage in the past. A 2012 Pentagon survey found that approximately 26,000 women and men were sexually assaulted that year; of those, only 3,374 cases were reported. In 2013, a new Pentagon report found that 5,061 troops reported cases of assault. Of the reported cases, only 484 cases went to trial; 376 resulted in convictions. Another investigation found that one in five women in the United States Air Force who were sexually assaulted by service members reported it, for one in 15 men.
A survey for the Department of Defense conducted in 2015 found that in the past year 52% of active service members who reported sexual assault had experienced retaliation in the form of professional, social, and administrative actions or punishments. In addition to retaliation against soldiers remaining in active service, many former service members who reported sexual assaults were forced to leave after being discharged. Reasons for discharge included having a "personality disorder" or engaging in misconduct related to the sexual assault such as fraternization or (prior to the end of don't ask, don't tell) homosexuality, even if the homosexual conduct was non-consensual.
Incidents which have been publicized include the 1991 Tailhook scandal, the 1996 Aberdeen scandal, the 2003 U.S. Air Force Academy sexual assault scandal, and the 2009-12 United States Air Force Basic Training scandal. In an attempt to deal with this problem, the Department of Defense issued the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Response policy. A provision in the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act required investigation and reporting regarding sexual harassment and assault at the United States military academies. A report published in The New York Times in March 2007, which surveyed women soldiers' experience in the Iraq War, showed high rates of post traumatic stress syndrome resulting from the combination of combat stress and sexual assault."The Women's War" article by Sara Corbett in the New York Times magazine, 18 March 2007 Of the female veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have visited a Veterans Affairs (VA) facility, 15% have screened positive for military sexual trauma."Female Soldiers Raise Alarm on Sexual Assaults" article by Kimberly Hefling msnbc.com
Women veterans who have been subjected to both sexual and physical assault are more likely to have chronic health issues and significantly lower quality of life in terms of their health more than 10 years after completing active duty.Gerber M, Iverson K, Dichter ME, Klap R, Latta R. Women veterans and intimate partner violence: Current state of knowledge and future directions. Journal of Women's Health, 2014; 23: 302-309 In one study, women veterans detailed how traumatic experiences such as sexual assaults from peers and supervisors and the subsequent lack of support after these incidents contributed to their decision for premature separation from military service.Dichter ME, True G. "This is the story of why my military career ended before it should have:"Premature separation from military service among U.S. women veterans. AFFILIA: Women and Social Work, 2015; 30(2): 187-199. Many of these women see these experiences as robbing them of promised opportunities when they enlisted, and feel betrayed when the military's handling of their sexual assault cases resulted in them having to continue to work with the perpetrator. Another article suggests that women in the military might have worse consequences of reporting Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and find increased difficulty in prosecuting perpetrators due to the nature of military service.Dichter ME, Wagner C, True G. Women veterans' experiences of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual assault in the context of military service: implications for supporting women's health and well-being. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2016 Sep 20. [Epub ahead of print] It has been proposed that military commanders who handle sexual assault cases be sensitized to the dynamics and impacts of IPV in order to lessen secondary victimization of women and provide a greater social support system for women who experience IPV in the military.
Context
Sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault, is a pervasive problem in militaries worldwide. It affects women disproportionately, particularly younger women and girls. Other groups at high risk include partners of personnel, child cadets, and military detainees.
While prevalence varies by country, military branch, and other factors, official statistics from Canada, the UK, and the U.S. indicate that between a quarter and a third of military women in these countries are sexually harassed at work at least once each year. Military training settings are characterised by a particularly high level of sexual harassment and assault relative to both the civilian population and other military settings. Research further shows an increase in perpetration during and after deployment on military operations.
Definition Sexual assault is recognized as a crime in the United States military, and is generally defined as sexual contact or acts upon a person or persons who did not or could not (legitimately) consent to it. It may, but does not need to, involve the use of force, physical threat, or abuse of authority by the perpetrator(s), which often leads to the victim or victims of the crime fearing to seek justice. This fear is instilled by the same means in which the act was opposed on the person or persons. Sexual assault includes: rape, indecent assault, attempts to commit these acts, and witnessing these acts and not reporting them.
The U.S. Army Study Guide states:
Sexual assault is a crime defined as intentional sexual contact, characterized by use of force, physical threat or abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent. Sexual Assault includes: Rape; Non consensual Sodomy (oral or anal sex); Indecent Assault (unwanted, inappropriate sexual contact or fondling); and Attempts to commit these acts.Army Study Guide: "Army Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program". Retrieved 4 June 2013.
The 2005 Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies report states:
Within the military community, the term sexual assault carries a more far-reaching meaning that encompasses everything from violent sexual acts such as rape, forcible sodomy, and assault with intent to commit rape or sodomy, to indecent assault. While indecent assault connotes violence, violence is not a prerequisite of the crime. Indecent assault can be a mere sexual touching that occurs without the consent of the person who is touched.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) § 920. Art. 120. "Rape and sexual assault generally" differentiates between rape (which requires an element of force or coercion) and sexual assault (which occurs any time a person commits a sexual act upon another person to which the latter did not or could not (legitimately) consent):
(a) Rape. —Any person subject to this chapter who commits a sexual act upon another person by— (1) using unlawful force against that other person; (2) using force causing or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm to any person; (3) threatening or placing that other person in fear that any person will be subjected to death, grievous bodily harm, or kidnapping; (4) first rendering that other person unconscious; or (5) administering to that other person by force or threat of force, or without the knowledge or consent of that person, a drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance and thereby substantially impairing the ability of that other person to appraise or control conduct; is guilty of rape and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
(b) Sexual Assault. —Any person subject to this chapter who— (1) commits a sexual act upon another person by— (A) threatening or placing that other person in fear; (B) making a fraudulent representation that the sexual act serves a professional purpose; or (C) inducing a belief by any artifice, pretense, or concealment that the person is another person; (2) commits a sexual act upon another person— (A) without the consent of the other person; or (B) when the person knows or reasonably should know that the other person is asleep, unconscious, or otherwise unaware that the sexual act is occurring; or (3) commits a sexual act upon another person when the other person is incapable of consenting to the sexual act due to— (A) impairment by any drug, intoxicant, or other similar substance, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the person; or (B) a mental disease or defect, or physical disability, and that condition is known or reasonably should be known by the person; is guilty of sexual assault and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Statistics A 2011 report found that women in the U.S. military were more likely to be raped by fellow soldiers than they were to be killed in combat.
A substantial increase in reported sexual assaults occurred at the three U.S. military academies for the 2010–2011 school year. It is possible that the increase resulted only from increased willingness to report incidents; increased reporting has been one of the goals of the Department of Defense.
At a November 2011 press conference introducing legislation to combat sexual assault in the armed forces, Rep. Jackie Speier stated that of the 13% of military sexual assault victims who reported the crimes committed against them, 90% were involuntarily discharged.
In September 2013, Congress received the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 2013 Statutory Enforcement Report. The report found that during the 2012 fiscal year, there were 3,374 reports of sexual assault upon military service members. Of these, 816 were not included in the commission report because they were confidential, restricted, and not investigated. The report indicated that commanders are increasingly likely to refer sexual assault cases to court martial compared to the prior four years. In 15% of cases, the accused perpetrator was permitted to resign or be discharged in lieu of court martial.
The same commission report included the results of an anonymous survey of military personnel in which 23% of women and 4% of men reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact since enlistment. Based on this survey, the Department of Defense estimated that 26,000 service members experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact, from groping to rape, in the year 2012. 34% of women and 24% of men who reported these events in the anonymous survey stated that they had reported the event to authorities.
According to a 2013 United States Commission on Civil Rights report, a 2010 survey conducted by the Department of Defense found that 54% of women and 27% of men did not report incidents because they feared retaliation; the survey also found that 47% of women and 20% of men did not report incidents because they had heard other victims had a negative experience after reporting.