The Number of Sexual Assaults in Today’s Army Continue to Rise

Sexual assault in today’s Army is an epidemic that have to be minimized without fail. According to the DOD’s SAPRO reports sexual assault have increased by 138% since FY07. These increases are due to things like more comfortable reporting options for victims, lack of respect among the ranks and women being introduced into previously male dominated combat MOS’s.

Sexual assault occurs due to lack of respect and discipline among troops. Even though soldiers are taught these values from day one of enlistment, some either forget their training or completely ignore it. A paper submitted to the command and staff college by Major Wendy Brinson identifies lack of respect for peer in the ranks is one of the main causes for sexual assaults, though not the sole contributor.

In the last couple of years, the military has made great strides with the increase of training for all service members. Which, in turn lowers the chances for sexual assault. However, with the implementation of programs, case numbers grow from ease of reporting.

Other contributing factors to sexual assaults are women being introduced into male dominated combat MOS’s. Evidence of this is shown again in the DOD’s SAPRO reports where sexual assault cases jumped from 6083 to 6769 from FY16, when the ban on women in combat was lifted. This, along with the programs being put into place in the Army that make reporting more comfortable cause the statistical number of sexual assault cases to continually climb.

Ending sexual assault in the military will require continual evaluation and improvement of the Army’s SHARP program. However, this alone will not end this epidemic. Service members themselves must improve discipline, along with education of the matter and hold each other accountable for actions contributing to the environment that allows sexual assaults to occur.

To summarize, there is not just one factor contributing to the climbing numbers of sexual assault. Things such as the lack of discipline and respect among the ranks, women being introduced to combat roles, ease of reporting as well as many other contributing factors, more must be done to slow the constant climb of the statistical number as well as the sexual assaults that go unreported.

Works Cited

Department of Defense Sexual Assault Program and Response Office Reports https://sapr.mil/index.php/reports It’s All About Respect: The Army’s Problem with Sexual Assault https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a601018.pdf

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