Over 25% Rise In Sexual Assault Cases At US Military Academies: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: (HRNW) Incidence of sexual assault in US military academies rose again last year, the Pentagon said Thursday, despite efforts to combat the problem.
During the 2018-2019 school year, there were 149 sexual assaults officially reported to authorities at three military academies — where students prepare for futures as military officers — compared to 117 during the previous school year, marking an increase of more than 25 percent, the Pentagon said in a report.

This year’s count only covered sexual assault cases reported to authorities, which the Pentagon says makes it difficult to determine if the rise in cases is due to better reporting or if sexual assaults did indeed occur more frequently than the year before.

Every two years, the nearly 13,000 students at the three schools — the army’s US Military Academy at West Point, New York, the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado — are also able to fill out anonymous questionnaires about sexual assaults that were not reported to authorities, including cases of sexual harassment or unwanted sexual contact.