The Pentagon reports that the overall number of sexual assault in the U.S. military is down for both men and women for the fiscal year that ended last September.
The 2016 annual report, released Monday, shows that 4.3 percent of women experienced a sexual assault in fiscal 2016, down from 4.9 percent of women in fiscal 2014.
Men, who are sexually assaulted at a much lower rate, also experienced a decrease, from 0.9 percent in 2014 compared to 0.6 percent on 2016, according to the Pentagon statistics.
At the same time, the reporting rate increased 1.5 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, which Pentagon officials said was evidence of more confidence in the system.
“You won’t find that trend anywhere else in the country,” said Nate Galbreath, Deputy Director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.
The numbers were higher for sexual harassment: Women experienced harassment 21.4 percent of the time, virtually the same rate as in 2015; men reported harassment 5.7 percent of the time, nearly a percentage point drop from 2016.
“We’re encouraged that there was less of this horrible crime in 2016. However, there are still too many people experiencing a sexual assault,” said Rear Adm. Ann Burkhardt, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office director.
