US military’s new tactic to curtail sexual assaults: nab serial ‘predators’
The Christian Science Monitor Reports:
The new direction is being driven by anecdotal experiences of some commanders, as well as by research showing that in certain semi-closed settings – such as college campuses – as many as 90 percent of sexual assaults are committed by serial offenders.
“We think it tends to be, more often than we’ve believed before, ‘serial predators’ with more than one victim,” retired Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward, who earlier this month left her post as director of the Air Force’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said in an interview. “If you get rid of just one of these predators, it’s pretty significant.”
Some perpetrators have dozens, sometimes hundreds, of victims in a lifetime, says Woodward, citing studies by psychologists who are now doing consulting work with the Pentagon. The military has long been lambasted for failing to address reports of rising sexual assault within the ranks, coming under criticism in documentary films, from members of Congress, and from victims advocacy groups.
