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The report, which interviewed men and women from the army, navy, air force and navy forces, estimated that 20,500 members of these services had had casualties. unwanted sexual contact "in 2018, a significant increase from the 14,900 of the previous year.
The report reported that unwanted sexual contact ranged from trial and error to rape.
In a letter to top Defense Ministry officials on Thursday, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced that the Pentagon would take additional measures to actively try to reduce and attempt to crack down. eliminate what has been a major problem for years.
"Frankly speaking, we do not respect the standards and expectations that we have for ourselves or for each other.It is unacceptable," Shanahan writes in the letter. "We can not shrink from the challenge – we must and we will do better."
"Together we must do everything in our power to eliminate sexual harassment and aggression within the army," Shanahan wrote. "In doing so, we must provide the highest quality response to service members and hold offenders accountable as appropriate."
According to the report, sexual assault rates among women in the active police force have increased dramatically, with women aged 17 to 24 being the most at risk of sexual assault. Rates for men on active duty have remained stable compared to the previous report in 2016.
The report also found that the Marine Corps had the highest estimated rate of sexual assault (almost 11% versus 7% in 2016), followed by the Navy, the Army, and the United States. # 39; air force, respectively. These services also experienced an increase in their estimated rates of assault.
"The results are disturbing and clearly indicate that the Marine Corps needs to re-examine its efforts to prevent sexual assault," the Marine Corps said in a statement issued on the report. "Our Marines have the fundamental right to live and work in an environment free from sexual assault and harassment, and the Marine Corps is committed to eliminating these criminal behaviors from our ranks, caring for the victims and empowering the victims. offenders. "
62% of the most serious sexual assaults involved the consumption of alcohol by the victim and / or the alleged offender, and the vast majority of victims knew their abuser, the report says.
About one in three military members reporting having been sexually assaulted reported it to an army superior, at about the same rate as in 2016, and commanders military had sufficient evidence to take disciplinary action against two-thirds of the accused. according to the report.
The Pentagon has set up a task force on sexual assault responsibility that was formed at the request of Republican Senegalese Arizona Martha McSally in March.
"We will criminalize certain activities over the next year to reflect the seriousness with which we will adopt certain behaviors," Shanahan said.
Overall, the rate of sexual assault in the military has been on a downward trend since 2006, when more than 34,000 members of the military reported a type of sexual assault, but their numbers fluctuated. since.
The Pentagon announced on Thursday that it would take additional measures to solve the problem, including launching a program that will allow members of the service to make reports even more confidential, and intensify recruitment efforts to evaluate the character of potential recruits.
Barbara Starr from CNN contributed to this report.
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