More female service members reported being sexually assaulted in 2021 than at any point since the military started tracking such data in 2006, according to a Department of Defense survey.
The Pentagon estimates that roughly 35,875 active-duty service members were forced into unwanted sexual contact, approximately 19,250 of whom were female and 16,600 were male. Roughly 8.4% of all female soldiers and 1.5% of male soldiers were the victims of such incidents; the former figure marks the highest since the department started tracking such statistics. Only about 20% of assaulted service members reported their assault, down from 30% during the last iteration of the survey in 2018. The new statistics came courtesy of the fiscal year 2021 “Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military,” which the Pentagon released on Thursday.
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Roughly 13% of female Marines reported having an unwanted sexual experience, which is the highest mark for any of the service branches, regardless of gender. Just above 10% of female sailors, a tad below 8.5% of female sailors, and 5.5% of the women in the Air Force faced the same.
Comparatively, each of the service branches reported roughly a 1-2% rate of men getting sexually assaulted, though sailors are the most likely, with 2.1% having reported such an incident.
Dr. Andra Tharp, a senior prevention adviser for the Office of Force Resiliency, described the survey data as “extremely concerning” but pointed to recent policies that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has promoted and approved in recent months.
A majority of women in the U.S. military say they do not trust the system in place, should they be sexually assaulted, to protect their privacy, ensure their safety following the attack, or treat them with dignity and respect.
Only 34% of women said they agree or strongly agree with the statement that they can trust the military to protect their privacy, down from 63% in 2018, the last time the survey was conducted — though that percentage had remained relatively steady for the previous near-decade. 40% of women trust the military to ensure their safety, which is down from 69% in 2018, while only 39% expect the military to treat them with dignity and respect, which is down from 66%.
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Male service members’ responses to the same three questions also demonstrated a substantial decrease in affirmative responses, though each remains above 50%.
Dr. Nathan Galbreath, the acting director of DoD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, told reporters that he believes the percentage of service members who don’t think the military can adequately handle a sexual assault case has gone up due to negative press on military incidents and perception.
“Overall, what I think you’re seeing is some of that concern about … what people are hearing in the military about their justice process reflected back to us in the survey results,” he said.
