Sexual Assault in the Military - Is The DOD Doing Enough? No

One in three women serving in the military has been sexually assaulted, according to the Department of Defense. This is in comparison to one in six women among the civilian population. Currently, women make up about 14.5% of the U.S. Armed Forces.

According to the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO), over 3,000 sexual assaults were reported between October 2010 and September 2011. It estimated that 19,000 occurred and only 14% of assaults were reported. That's more than 50 per day. 

SAPRO also reports that most sexual assaults are perpetrated by service members upon other service members. From 2002 to 2006, reports of military sexual assaults tripled. In 2012, more than 3,000 reports were made.

As if these statistics about the frequency with which our servicewomen face abuse are not disgusting enough, the pattern of military officials looking the other way is even more horrifying. 

As of 2011, most of the individuals found guilty of sexual assault were not discharged but merely fined or reduced in rank. Criminal convictions were rare.  

Many of those who survive these assaults must endure it without any help from military higher ups because of an environment where victimizers are not punished and are permitted to continue the victimization. The SAPRO report shows that repeat offenders commit 90% of all assaults.

One survivor said, "This whole concept of 'zero tolerance,' it's just words and no action."
"You can't leave. You can't quit. You can't walk away."

It's incredibly sad that the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" applies to our servicemen and servicewomen in regard to sexual assault. Why isn't more being done? 

You can read more here.