U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen say they are not reporting sexual assaults for fear of retribution and being ostracized, even though more midshipmen are receiving prevention education.
A survey, conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, showed midshipmen are underreporting sexual assaults, a trend seen at the Air Force Academy and U.S. Military Academy at West Point and has been a problem in the past few years.
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“Getting victims to come forward is a common problem not only at service academies but at other college populations as well,” said Deborah Goode, an academy spokeswoman, in an e-mailed response for comment.
“There is a stigma that can come with these types of very personal crimes. The academy has made concerted efforts to train midshipmen to be aware of and avoid situations in which sexual crimes can be committed and to know how and where to report them.”
SAPRO reported 90 percent of all sexual assaults at the service academies go unreported, despite the same percentage of students saying they received “some positive effect in reducing or eliminating sexual assaults and harassment,” said David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, in a letter to congressional leaders.
“Clearly, more must be done,” he wrote.
At the Annapolis academy, 82 percent of female midshipmen said the assault “was not important enough to report,” according to the survey.
Most took care of the problem themselves, according to the survey.
More female midshipmen this year thought if they reported the assault, their leadership positions would suffer, their offender would retaliate against them and their allegations would not be investigated, than they did in 2006, according to the survey.
Male midshipmen responses were similar.
These results continue what the General Accountability Office reported earlier this year about assaults at the academies.
About 8 percent of female midshipmen and 2 percent of male midshipmen experienced unwanted sexual contact, which was about the same in 2006.
Yet, the academy has seen slight increases in the number of unwanted instances of sexual touching, sexual intercourse and instances of oral and anal sex and object penetration of female midshipmen since 2006.
The academy had four reported rapes in 2008 where the victim did not want to pursue an investigation. Two other reported rapes occurred where the victim pursued an investigation.
With a combined number of six, the academy saw fewer reported rapes than in 2007 when eight were reported.
The survey also said midshipmen rely on rumors to find out the outcome of sexual assaults involving midshipmen, because they receive no information from academy officials.
The academy can’t release certain details because of legal and privacy issues, but is working to release more information to midshipmen in hopes that it will address “the challenges of eliminating sexist behavior, harassment and assault,” Goode said.
To counter sexual assaults and gender problems, the academy mandated every midshipmen to take 25 hours of classroom training during their four years to educate them on gender difference and prevent sexual assault and harassment.
The program is only a year old, and the academy is creating an assessment to see if the program works. Other methods, such as more sexual assault officers and improved communication of reporting methods, have been implemented as recommended last year by the Defense Department.
“Our policy is clear: Prevent and deter these activities within the brigade [of midshipmen] and at the academy as a whole,” Goode said. “Accordingly, we will continue to review and revise our programs in order to eliminate this activity.”
