Harassment Reports Up Among U.S. Military Women.
One-third of U.S. military women surveyed say they have experienced sexual harassment, according to a recently released Defense Department report. And nearly seven percent of active-duty women said they had experienced some kind of unwanted sexual contact. Both figures increased compared to a similar 2002 report, which found that 24 percent of women reported sexual harassment and 5 percent reported unwanted contact, but they decreased compared a similar 1995 survey, the Defense Department noted.
Other notable findings:
- 21 percent of women who reported an assault cited rape.
- 38 percent of women reported they experienced unwanted sexual touching.
- 40 percent of women reported their assault occurred in the workplace.
- Roughly one third of all incidents involved alcohol or drugs.
- Offenders tended to a lone male.
Additionally, there were 181 courts-martial last year for sexual assault, according to the Associated Press, and 201 nonjudicial punishments.
Overall, Defense Department sexual misconduct training has improved markedly, according to military officials, the AP reported, as 90 percent of people surveyed said they had received sexual harassment training within the last year. The 2006 survey asked 70,000 soldiers to respond to sexual harassment questions, but only 23,000 participated, according to the Defense Manpower Data Center.
