Sexual assaults spike at military academies

Reported sexual assaults at military academies increased by over 50 percent from last year to this year, according to a Defense Department report that prompted two new sexual assault response policies.

“The academies saw an overall increase in the number of sexual assault reports made to authorities in [Academic Program Year] APY 2010-2011,” the Department of Defense (DOD) announced yesterday in a statement on the Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies. “During the evaluation period, a total of 65 reports of sexual assault involved cadets and midshipmen compared to a total of 41 reports in the prior APY.”