"U.S. officials say reports of sexual assaults across the military jumped by nearly 10 percent in 2017, a year that saw a massive online nude-photo sharing scandal rock the services, triggering greater awareness of sexual harassment and other similar complaints.
The overall increase was fueled by a nearly 15-percent surge in sexual assault reports in the Marine Corps, according to officials familiar with the data. The Marines were at the center of last year’s online investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and launched a large public campaign to raise awareness of inappropriate behavior and beef up enforcement of social media rules and conduct.
...Defense officials have argued that an increase in reported assaults is a positive trend, because it’s a highly underreported crime, both in the military and across society as a whole. Greater reporting, they argue, shows there is more confidence in the reporting system and greater comfort with the support for victims. It’s unclear, however, if the increased reports in 2017 actually represent a growing problem or if victims are just more willing to come forward."
Read the full article here. For more information on this topic, see the Sexual Violence in the Military special collection.
