Another Drop in Number of Military Sexual Assault Reports

The US military saw reported sexual assaults drop for a second straight year—but Pentagon officials describe the numbers as still too high. The new report counted 8,195 reported sexual assaults in 2024, down nearly 4% from the prior year's 8,515; the count in 2022 was 8,942 reported sexual assaults. The biggest driver of the decrease was a 13% decline in reported sexual assaults within the Army; the other services, meanwhile, logged increases, with the Navy up most at 4.3%. Officials warn the downward trend could still reverse, and say many victims never report their assault. A closer look, per the AP:

• Of the 2024 tally, 512 service members said their assault happened before enlistment (such reporting is encouraged so they can access support services), while 641 civilians reported being assaulted by a service member.
• Despite the decrease in sexual assault reports, sexual harassment complaints ticked up to 3,014 from 2,980 the year prior. Most harassment complaints involved male accused and female accusers.
• The Pentagon has poured more than $1 billion into improving prevention and support programs, hiring 1,400 out of a planned 2,500 staff—progress now slowed by federal budget cuts.
• To that end, the Military Times reports that during a news briefing on the report, DOD officials "acknowledged that looming staffing cuts throughout the department could impact future work on sexual assault prevention and prosecution."
• New prosecution procedures took effect last year, giving independent lawyers, not commanders, authority over cases, but it's too soon to make a determination about impact.
• Per the report, case outcomes were reported for 4,292 cases in 2024. Of those, 3,233 were considered for possible action against the accused, and the "evidence supported disciplinary action in 2,128 cases." In 1,079 cases, "department authorities were precluded from action or respected victims' desire to not further participate in the justice process." Twenty-six cases. or about 1%, were found to be false or baseless.
• The Military Times adds the report doesn't capture the full scope of the issue; it cites an anonymous, military-wide survey conducted last year that put the count of troops who had been subjected to unwanted sexual contact in the previous year at 29,000.

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