More than half of the Air Force and Space Force personnel who participated in a recent survey acknowledged that they had experienced behaviors that met the criteria of “interpersonal violence.”
The new data, which shed light on the number of people within the military branch who experience violence either in their personal or professional lives, were released by the Air Force on Tuesday.
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The study found that 54% of personnel overall — 66% of women, 48% of men, and 63% of those who didn’t share their gender — acknowledged having experienced interpersonal violence, which includes harassment, sexual assault, dating or familial violence, hazing, and bullying, within the last two years.
There were approximately 68,000 active-duty, reserve, guard, and civilian personnel within the Air Force who took the service, which accounts for roughly 10% of the entire force.
The most common type of interpersonal violence that the respondents reported was workplace bullying, 36%, followed by workplace harassment, 29%, nonintimate partner violence, 21%, and intimate partner violence, 9%.
In fewer than 40% of all violence cases cited by those who filled out the survey, the victim or others went to the authority tasked with investigating such conduct. Fewer than 20% of intimate partner violence and workplace harassment incidents were reported to the relevant investigating office.
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“We clearly have work to do to ensure that interpersonal violence is prevented,” said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. “When it does occur, we need to provide needed support to victims and deal effectively with perpetrators of violence — of any type.”
The survey is the latest report conducted by the Department of Defense illustrating the pervasive problem of violence and harassment across the armed forces.
