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The Pentagon announced yesterday that the number of reported sexual assaults in the military grew in 2004, and that number is expected to continue rising next year in response to new policies intended to remove barriers to victims coming forward.
In 2004, military criminal organization received 1,700 reports of alleged cases of sexual assault – which includes rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault and attempts to commit these offenses.
In an increase of 25 percent over the previous year, in 1,275 of the reported cases, service members were alleged victims. There are several reasons explaining why the reported cases of sexual assault in the military have increased.
According to victim advocates, the increase could indicate the incidents of sexual assault are actually rising in the military, as larger numbers of servicewomen are mobilized for today’s conflicts, or more victims are actually coming forward to report the sexual assaults or a combination of both factors. The Pentagon and victim advocates agree barriers to reporting sexual assault offenses have been a persistent problem in the military, and Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Joe Richard believes it is probably the most underreported crime.
The Defense Department put in place a sexual assault prevention and response policy allowing victims to receive medical care, legal information and other support without automatically triggering an investigation in January. Should the sexual assault victim decide to pursue an investigation, however, information about the assault could be revealed during a court martial.
In the military, nonjudicial punishment is used when a crime has been committed, which may keep the individual from being listed as a sexual offender. Many victim advocates believe this allows an inconsistent injustice within the military to exist.