The Pentagon released a report Thursday estimating that the number of sexual assault incidents across all military academies had risen 50 percent, with the number of cadets experiencing such assaults rising from 507 in 2016 to 747 in 2018.
The estimates emerged from data gleaned from an anonymous survey of cadets and midshipmen at the U.S. Military Academy, Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy. The surveys revealed that 15.8 percent of all female cadets and midshipmen experienced "unwanted sexual contact" in 2018 (up from 12.2 percent in 2016), as did 2.4 percent of men (up from 1.7 percent in 2016).
The increases, however, were not uniform across the academies. While both women and men experienced increased harassment at the U.S. Military Academy, for instance, unwanted contact remained constant for both genders at the U.S. Naval Academy. Incidents also increased for women at the U.S. Air Force Academy but not for men.
The number of incidents that actually get reported is an entirely separate story. Reported incidents have remained almost completely static over the past two years and represent only a fraction of those claimed in the anonymous survey. In 2017-2018 academic year, just 117 reports of sexual assault were made involving cadets and midshipmen, only five more than were made in 2016.