Academy has uptick in sex assaults

[unhappycamper]

Report from DoD
Investigators believe assaults are underreported


Academy has uptick in sex assaults
y Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 27, 2009 8:40:42 EST

Eight midshipmen reported being sexually assaulted at the Naval Academy in the 2008-2009 academic year — two more than the year before, according to a Defense Department report.

Although the academy recorded an increase, sexual assaults overall at the three DoD service academies were down from last year, the report said, and DoD inspectors offered general praise for Naval Academy officials’ compliance with rules about tracking assaults and offering help to victims.

Of the eight sexual assaults, three were classified as “unrestricted” — reported through the chain of command or to the police. These cases most often involve official investigations and charges against accused assailants. The other five assaults were “restricted,” meaning victims came forward but didn’t identify themselves and didn’t want there to be formal investigations.

Cadets and midshipmen told DoD investigators they liked having the two ways to report sexual assaults; although “restricted” reports don’t end up punishing alleged attackers, they do allow victims to get medical care and support. The midshipman focus groups, as well as the DoD inspectors’ own findings, prompted the report’s authors to cite the Naval Academy as a model for its counterparts.

“The has continuously refined and improved its policies, procedures, and processes that are designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault,” said the report, released Dec. 18. The Naval Academy “demonstrates commendable practices that should be considered for replication by the other U.S. military service academies.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/12/navy_sexassault_122709w/