Washington: The Pentagon on Friday voiced concern over a pattern of retaliation against victims of sexual assault in the US military and vowed to take steps to counter the problem.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced he had ordered a "comprehensive strategy to prevent retaliation against service members who report or intervene on behalf of victims of sexual assault and other crimes."
"Too many service members, the data shows, feel that when they report or try to stop these crimes, they`re being ostracized or retaliated against in some way," Carter said.
The Pentagon chief issued the directive as the military released results of an annual report on sexual assault trends.
But officials acknowledged that measuring the scope of the retaliation problem, and even defining what constitutes retaliation, remained a challenge.
A survey by the RAND Corporation think tank released last year concluded that 62 percent of sexual assault victims said they suffered some kind of retaliation at work, social ostracism or administrative penalty.
However, RAND later revised the number down to 57 percent, after finding some measures taken were designed to protect victims.
The Pentagon`s annual report showed sexual assaults have declined overall in the past two years, according to anonymous surveys of troops, even as the number of incidents reported by victims to authorities has increased.
Officials said there had been a 27 percent decrease in the prevalence of sexual assault between 2012 and 2014.
A survey showed 18,900 troops had experienced "unwanted" sexual contact in 2014, compared to roughly 26,000 in 2012. Within that number, 8,500 were women and 10,400 were men.
But the document said 6,131 service members had reported a rape or sexual assault in 2014, an 11 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Officials said the numbers showed the overall problem had declined and that victims were now more willing to come forward to report the crime.
Defense officials said the survey methods were similar to how public health researchers gauge the extent of an epidemic or disease, as many medical cases are often not reported by patients.
Carter also said the department had to do more to stop sexual harassment, which he said has been shown to create conditions that give rise to rapes and other crimes.
The report showed 22 percent of female service members and seven percent of men in uniform may have experienced some form of sexual harassment last year.
"That`s abhorrent and has to stop, not just because it`s flat-out wrong but also because the data show that those who experience sexual harassment are more likely to be sexually assaulted," Carter said.
