adminThe rise comes amid extensive efforts by the academies for the Army, Navy and Air Force to prevent sexual assaults and to raise awareness of the problem.
The Pentagon said it was unclear why the number of reported sexual assaults rose and that it was possible that due to recent initiatives, more victims were coming forward to notify authorities.
“The Department does not have the ability to conclusively identify the reasons for this increase in reporting behaviour,” said the report.
“However, in prior years’ assessments, the Department identified steps the academies could take to encourage more victims to report. Some of the increased reporting of sexual assault may be attributed to these efforts as well as many other factors,” it said.
The 41 reported sexual assaults reported at the academies in 2009-2010 marked a 64 percent increase from the previous academic period, according to Pentagon documents.
Tuesday’s report said all the academies were complying with strict Defence Department rules on preventing sexual assaults and in some cases surpassed requirements with innovative programmes to try to address the problem. — AFP.
Online Reporter