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Subscribe to RSSSenior U.S. defense officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, announce new efforts to combat sexual assault in the military.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday that the Pentagon is preparing new initiatives to try to curb sexual assaults in the military -- a problem he believes could be six times greater than reported.
Panetta said 3,191 sex assault cases were reported in the military last year, but because so few victims come forward, he believes the real number is closer to 19,000 assaults. In 2010, 3,158 cases were reported.
"It is an affront to the basic American values we defend and it is a stain on the good honor of the great majority of our troops and our families," said Panetta during a press conference at the Pentagon.
“These women and these men who are willing to fight and die to protect and serve our country – they deserve better protection. Their families and dependents also sacrifice and serve. And so for this reason, we must spare no effort to protect them against this heinous crime. … One sexual assault is one too many.”
Panetta said new initiatives include extending victim services to military spouses as well as Pentagon civilians and contractors working abroad. Also, more money will go toward training investigators and lawyers to go after and prosecute perpetrators.
Under the new measures, service members who file sexual abuse charges can immediately transfer to a new unit or base to avoid harassment or contact with the accused attacker.
The proposals require congressional approval.
'Deeply regret'
Panetta spoke two days before the premiere of a new documentary about sexual assault in the U.S. military, titled "The Invisible War." The film is being shown at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Saying he wanted to speak directly to the victims of sexual assault in the Defense Department, Panetta said somberly: "I deeply regret that such crimes occur in the U.S. military ... I'm committed to providing you the support and resources you need and to taking whatever steps are necessary to keep what happened to you from happening to others."
"The Invisible War" premieres Friday at the Sundance Film Festival. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.
Announcement of those two changes accompanied the Pentagon's annual report last month showing assault cases rose at the nation's three major military academies in the latest academic year from one year earlier.
The Defense Department's "Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies" for academic year 2010-2011 found there were 65 reports of sexual assaults involving cadets and midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy. That was up from 41 reported assaults in the prior academic year. Officials said they could not conclusively identify the reasons for the increase but that it could be because the department has worked to encourage more victims to report assaults.
Beyond the academy report every December, the Pentagon also releases an annual report each March on sexual assaults throughout the services.
This post includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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This was how I was conceived, military rape. I love my Mom. I feel bad for her!
I'm female and spent 20 in the military and the assults do happen. But, they happen in all forms of business. It's just harder to report it when the person who assults you happens to be someone you have to see everyday. The proposed immediate transfer to protect the victim will make it easier to report these assults.
Wow this is all disheartening considering how many directions, and re-directed or how deflected some comments on here are.
I warn anyone who decides to read my comment that this is lengthly, but I feel warranted. If you decide to read the whole thing, I thank you from the bottom of my heart in advance. If you wish to contact me after you read you may to my email: luzsis@yahoo.com
Folks we are not comparing statistics of sexual assault or rape victims of the military to civilian sector. It's a fact that attention has been placed on this issue in the civilian sector, and it is a crime punishable by law.
I spent 4 years in the Army and let me tell you the sexual harrassment in amount and type was horrific to live through. I never reported anyone because I felt a man in "this man's Army" would not learn his lesson if I put pen to paper, which is not necessarily mighter than the sword unless you have the support of higher ranks. I was/am not a lesbian, tomboy yes. My father is ex-Special Forces, warned me to watch out for these kinds of assaults because of what he witnessed in Viet Nam, and trained me to be able to stand up for myself against any male attacker no matter the size. I found in growing up with my brother and boys in my neighborhood that they learn better when you stand your ground versus going to some "over-seeing" official.
Real quick: the number of Officers to Enlisted is totally irrelevent and it chaps my butt the attention is being put there and only on 3 Military Academies with noone asking or considering how many military units there are, the types (because this makes a difference also is anyone is willing to be honest, but who wants to when you continually get told that you shouldn't have took on a job that you would be around men). And considering I was in a unit and did a job that both women and men can do efficiently, but that did not stop the barrading comments of how women don't belong there (yet I could out run them , PT them, did a better job and got recognized all the way to the top, etc, several higher ranking officers seen my capabilities and had my back whenever, but I felt it unnecessary to enlist their aid against the "ignorant" men that acted that way).
However; when I would stand my ground and ask them to stop talking about my "Pu**y" (being totally upfront), and asking the color, talking amongst themselves of the size, including referrences to cultural background etc, they would simply laugh and tell me I needed to not be so sensitive. Well I really wasn't and told them how ignorant they sound and no woman would want to get in a relationship with them. No matter how soft my tone, etc, this would always lead to stronger and nastier aggression towards. Several times a male soldier would take it to the degree to get in my face and threaten to rape me, I ripped off my rank and asked them to step aside with me, where there would be no witnesses. Noone took me up on it. Instead, even though I did not report them, I would walk away etc, they would go tell I threatened to beat them up and I would get into trouble. The older, smarter NCO's and Officers knew exactly what was going on, but did not reprimand me formally, instead, they tried their hardest to get me to file a report, but I would refuse. The reasons I would refuse is for the following: 1) because men do not like a woman to ruffle their feathers, yet they learn someones line and limits when that person stands their grounds. 2) I feel that it is too easy for men to be falsely accused and I respected them for that, so therefore; me and that person would just have to work out our differences on "the battlefield." Just like my daddy taught me. 3) As a female, (and more especially when you look like one), you CANNOT gain their respect by being a good soldier alone, it never worked!! 4) Once I stood up to their face, they feared many things like for example, fighting a woman-I totally respect the gentlemanly attitude here and would never complain that if we went fist to fist, that they hit me, they have to struggle with whether I "could" kick their butt, if I could then that would mean they would've got beat up by a girl-----of course this would most definitely sit well and I respect that. My attitude in this way backed off alot of the men who acted like this towards the women, it even became known to not mess with another woman like that in my presence because I would take that on. My unit even covered one of my co-workers who regularly beat up his wife. He tried that with us on our line, but the men were to afraid to stand up to him because he always seemed to have a way to talk himself out of trouble and "in-charge" of the line. One particular day I'd had enough. I asked him to stop treating us that way, to which the 2 other guys warned me to stop because I would get into trouble with him. Strength in numbers right??? Not!!! He got in my face threatening me, to which I replied for us to step across the street "and I would teach him how to fight like a real man since all he beats on is his wife." He went and told on me, I didn't get into formal trouble, I was "talked to" but again the NCO's knew the problem and refused to reprimand him. After this event he and I were put in charge equally, but he never acted like that again.
I was involved in a court case against a man we ended up with as our Platoon Sergeant. Same kinda story, he started pushing his authority scaring us all, sexual comments and threatened us if we told, you CANNOT go above a ranking member's head with any sort of complaint without suffereing consequences. And I will also mention we all found out he was either a 4th or 5th degree black belt that he made sure to hint to regularly making it even scarier. While on a 30 day training in Ft. Lewis, WA he got extremely bad. With a room full of our co-worker and only 2 of us females he started his sexual comments but would not stop when asked. He kept upping the Ante to threats scaring the other female bad enough for her to run out of the room. He then got in my face putting women down, saying we needed to be controlled, black men beat white women because we deserved it etc. I've always been supporter of different cultures and my group of friends to this day resembles that. I just laughed in his face. He threatened to beat up my Fiance' who was an Artilleryman if I told him and he approached the Platton Sergeant about his behavior. I stood my ground. He brought up his training and asked if I was scared to which I replied no I wasn't because when you've grown up as a city kid having to fight frequently for survival and black belt meant squat, and considering my dad trained me to never back down from that kind of advance and that it is better to stand up for your rights no matter if you get beat, opposed to letting people bully me and back down. He then backed away and watched his conversations from that day forward.
This incident turned into a court case. He had, in the neighborhood of (cant quite remember exact number because this was 20 yrs ago) 23 sexual assualt/rape cases follow him from Korea, and in the short (approx 6mths) he was at our base managed to rack up 10+ more. He had us believing we could tell on him if we wanted but it would take and "act of Congress" to bust him and even our Battalion Commander (whom was an ex-Navy Seal and great troop leader) couldn't touch him either. So then the question, if our Battalion Commander and Congress could do nothing to this man, then who could? What could we do to get him to stop? No understand we have it beat in our heads to not buck rank or someone's authority much more stronger than in the civilian sector. So what were we to do??
Outcome of the court case: no trial, he was busted for a majority of the cases, he lost all his rank--from E7 (which was also foun