Reported sexual assaults at U.S. military academies increased significantly during the 2021-22 school year, the highest since the Department of Defense (DoD) began collecting data on the matter, The Baltimore Banner reported.
Student-reported assaults at the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force academies jumped 18% overall compared with the previous year, 155 from 131, U.S. officials said, driven largely by the Navy, which saw nearly double in 2022 than 2021, 61 from 33.
The Air Force Academy’s number remained the same from the previous year (52) and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point saw a slight decrease, 42 from 46.
Over a dozen (16) students reported an assault in the 2021-22 academic year that took place before enrollment and 35 cases involved civilians, active-duty service members, and prep school students allegedly assaulted by students. This brings the total number of reported assaults with any connection to a student to 206, approximately 28% higher than last year (161).
In response, teams will be visiting the academies this March to try to address the issue.
“The results are, simply put, extremely disappointing,” said Vice Adm. Sean Buck, superintendent of the Naval Academy. “The current situation is unacceptable and we must improve our culture.”
A student survey with the report was released Mar. 10. It found that there have been increases in all types of unwanted sexual contact — from touching to rape – with 21.4% of women and 4.4% of men saying they had experienced unwanted sexual contact in the 2022 school year. In 2018, it was 16% and 2.6%, respectively.
