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Sexual assaults in military bring shame, not action
Mon Mar 28, 8:03 AM ET
"Ask a question, and the Pentagon can drown you in numbers. How many are serving in the armed forces' four branches? In January, 1,409,564. That was 1,723 less than in December. The Pentagon has figures going back to the 1950s.
Now, how many military women reported sexual assaults in the past few years? How many people were arrested or punished?
Despite a succession of embarrassments, the Pentagon lacks answers - at least publicly. It says the numbers are almost ready and will be reported to Congress on May 1. Less clear, though, is whether the problem will finally get the priority that it deserves.
Since the early 1990s, studies, scandals and news accounts have shown that women in uniform are plagued by sexual abuse. The disclosures led to a succession of investigations but only minor policy changes.
Then, two new embarrassments drove home how pervasive the problem is.
The first suggested that abuse includes the military's elite. Several female Air Force Academy cadets went public with allegations that they had been assaulted by other cadets and that the academy brass had punished them for daring to report the incidents.
The second suggested that abuse was also common on the front lines. Female soldiers serving in Iraq sought help from an advocacy group and Congress after their internal complaints were ignored.
An embarrassed Pentagon promised reforms. Instead, more problems were uncovered. A Pentagon task force looking into the Iraq complaints reported a year ago that data about sexual assaults and military follow-up were inconsistent and incomplete, compromising accountability. Congress then ordered the report due May 1.
Ten days ago came more evidence, when a 2004 Pentagon survey of the three military academies was released. One in 7 female cadets said they'd been victims of sexual abuse - ranging from unwanted advances to rape - during the previous five years. Only a third of the incidents were reported.
The Pentagon seems to take comfort in noting that the academies' experience mirrors the rest of society. David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, said that the figures reflect the underreporting of rape at colleges across the nation: The academies "are about where the college campuses are, tragically."
That's true, but it misses the point.
The problem is that the military does not provide women some of the common protections they get in civilian society, even though they have nowhere else to turn.
Outside the military, a woman can report a crime to police without fear that colleagues at work will find out. Independent prosecutors determine whether a suspect will stand trial. In the armed forces, commanders make those decisions by weighing evidence involving personnel under their supervision, including, at times, the rape victim. That makes women wary of filing complaints.
Further, military sexual assault laws are outdated. Since the 1970s, civilian laws on rape have changed to recognize a broader range of conduct as sexual assault, such as date rape. But the half-century-old military rape statute has not kept pace, making it more difficult to prosecute some cases.
Last year, Congress ordered the Pentagon to propose revisions of assault statutes by this month. Military officials say that, too, is in the works. But, like promises to collect basic data, the push came from outside.
For reform to work, the brass will have to take these crimes seriously. The Pentagon's track record suggests that has yet to happen."
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