‘Clear threat’: Reports of military sexual assault leap 50 percent
The Deseret News reports:
The report was released on the heels of a Pentagon campaign to get victims to come forward, but the startling numbers have the attention of politicians and activists. The Service Women’s Action Network and Vietnam Veterans of America also filed a joint suit against the Veterans Administration last week, claiming its regulations discriminate against veterans seeking benefits for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder linked to sexual assault.
The suit claims that more than half of women in the military experience unwanted sexual contact during their service, but it’s not only women who are victims: Of the 26,000 reports of sexual assault and harassment made from 2011 to 2012, some 52 percent came from men.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel declared sexual assault a “clear threat” to both male and female servicemembers.
