GAO: Academy sex assaults may be underreported

[unhappycamper]

GAO: Academy sex assaults may be underreported
By Brendan McGarry - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 20, 2008 5:22:54 EST

The U.S. Military Academy has taken steps to prevent sexual assault on campus, but student surveys indicate such incidents may be vastly underreported, according to a new government report.

West Point reported 45 sexual assaults from 2003 through 2006, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday.

That was the same as the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo., and compares to 55 at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Taken together, the Defense Department academies reported 145 sexual assaults during the four-year period, according to the GAO report.

The Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., part of the Department of Homeland Security, recorded 12 sexual assaults during the same period, according the GAO report.

However, anonymous surveys administered in 2006 indicate about 200 female students and 100 male students at the Defense Department academies may have experienced “unwanted sexual contact” in 2005 alone, according to the GAO.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/army_westpoint_sexassault_080219w/

[Benhurst]

1. Am I the only one who finds this appalling and totally unacceptable?

What's happened to these institutions? Can you even imagine a young U.S. Grant, R.E. Lee, David Eisenhower or Wesley Clark sexually assaulting someone?

This on top of all the crazy religious fundamentalism reported at the Air Force Academy. Maybe they should close down the academies for several years, fumigate them, and start again from scratch. This is totally unacceptable.