According to a U.S. Department of Defense report on sexual misconduct at three U.S. military academies, one female student in seven has been subjected to sexual assault. The report is based in part on a survey conducted by the Department last Spring 2004. Of the 1,906 women and a smaller sampling of the men interviewed, 262 students reported 302 cases of sexual assault, 94 cases of rape and 176 cases of inappropriate touching or fondling. Only a small portion of such incidents were reported to school authorities. The Department’s response to the above findings involves the implementation of a new confidential reporting system that will allow sexual assault victims to report their attacks and seek help in privacy. The new system will also require academy coordinators to be informed of any assault within 24 hours of the student’s report. The goal of such a system, according to David S.C. Chu, undersecretary of defense, is to encourage more victims to come forward and seek help, as well as give officials a better understanding of the reoccurring misconduct.
Compiled from: One in Seven Attending Military Academies Report Being Sexually Assaulted, Feminist Daily News Wire, www.feminist.org, 21 March 2005.