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Understanding Sexual Assault In The Military

bustos.house.gov
The number of military sexual assault victims coming forward has grown in recent years.

Tuesday, Nate Galbreath, Senior Executive Advisor with the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, spoke at Utah State University on research concerning sexual assault in the military. Using data from police reports and scientific surveys, it was discovered that the overall rate of incidents is decreasing, although the crime remains a problem.

In 2004, Defense officials created a confidential sexual assault reporting option, helping more victims come forward. Galbreath said that shame and stigma can affect victims of sexual assault in the military just as in the civilian world.

“All the concerns and the stigma associated with sexual assault that occurs in the civilian population occurs in the military population as well,” Galbreath said. “While we really work hard to make sure that people can serve in an environment of dignity and respect, military life is much different. You work in a close-knit environment with the same people that you might also share a dormitory or barracks with and so people are very worried about how they might be perceived should they experience the sexual assault.”

Becky Blais, an assistant professor of psychology at USU, says that victims can still find it hard to report assaults even after leaving the military.

“We done some research here that’s just come out of our lab showing that stigma is a primary barrier to folks disclosing, [as well as] discomfort in the screening setting, not being comfortable telling a civilian provider about what happened to them in the military, or being concerned that they might be demoted or kicked out in the military,” Blais said. “So, just large-scale concerns that keep people from disclosing appropriately and getting the care they need.”

It is estimated that only 15 to 20 percent of military sexual assaults are reported.