April 12, 2009
Most Hawaii Army sex assaults go unreported, but military better in raising awareness of problem
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
A female sailor reported being raped aboard the Pearl Harbor-based cruiser USS Port Royal while it was docked in the United Arab Emirates. A male enlisted sailor accused of the crime was found not guilty at a court-martial.
An Air Force lieutenant colonel was accused of making wrongful sexual contact with a male staff sergeant in Afghanistan. The officer received punishment of forfeiture of $3,704 pay a month for two months, and a reprimand.
A female enlisted Marine said she was fondled by a male service member while sleeping on the floor at another Marine’s house. Civilian authorities declined to prosecute, and the accused was acquitted at court-martial.
Those are just three of the 2,923 reports of sexual assault involving U.S. service members received by the Pentagon during fiscal 2008, which ended last September.
Required by Congress, the recently released annual statistics on sexual assault in the military showed an 8 percent increase in reports over the year before – a rise officials say reflects an increase in awareness and reporting of such crimes, but not necessarily a jump in assaults themselves.
Over a five-year period, the Army has seen a general increase in the numbers of confirmed sexual assaults involving Schofield Barracks soldiers, with six in fiscal 2004, seven in 2005, 26 in 2006, nine in 2007 and 10 in 2008, according to the post.
The year 2006 was an anomaly because a change in reporting procedures and laws resulted in a much higher number, officials said.
“We believe the increased number in reporting (across the Defense Department) means service members feel more comfortable reporting the crime and are getting the care they need,” said Gail McGinn, the Pentagon’s deputy undersecretary of defense for plans.
There were 165 sexual assault reports in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama declared April as Sexual Assault Awareness month.
Pete Geren, the secretary of the Army, expressed regret over the 4 percent increase in reported Army sexual assault cases in 2008 – for a total of 1,584 – saying the trend indicates “the Army still has much work to do to succeed in creating a climate where soldiers treat each other with dignity and respect.”
most unreported
Treatment professionals say the military is doing a much better job of acknowledging, responding to and trying to prevent sex assaults within its ranks, but there is little debate that such crimes are still highly unreported.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office last August found that the Defense Department still faced some challenges in implementing sexual assault prevention and response programs, for reasons that included a failure of a minority of commanders to support the programs.
Additionally, the GAO reported that at the 14 installations where it did its survey, 103 service members said they had been sexually assaulted in the preceding 12 months, but only 51 had reported it.
The government agency found that factors that discouraged service members from reporting a sexual assault included the belief that nothing would be done, fear of ostracism, harassment or ridicule, and concern that peers would gossip.
The Army in Hawai’i acknowledged that “as it stands now, most of these crimes go unreported.” The service said that as the Army’s campaign to reduce sex assault gains more momentum, it expects that increasing reports of sexual assault will continue.
In abstracts of the reported sexual assaults across the military, alcohol use often is an accompanying factor. Military officials say an attacker often is an acquaintance.
“We look for that rapist as being the guy or gal in a black mask with a knife hiding around the corner, when in fact, for the most part, it’s somebody you know,” said Col. Dean Wolford, the 15th Airlift Wing vice commander at Hickam Air Force Base.
Wolford said the issue of sexual assault “is not centered solely on the Air Force or Army, Navy or Marines. It’s in our society in general and that’s something that we as a society need to combat.
“It’s that attitude of date rape being date-light rape. A rape is a rape. An assault is an assault, and our society has to have a better awareness of that.”
The Navy said it recorded 418 sex assault cases service-wide in fiscal 2007, and 489 in 2008.
In the majority of 188 Navy investigations completed in 2008, the suspected attackers were mostly male active-duty members under age 35, according to reports.
“A significant number” could not be prosecuted because of issues, including the attacker not being known, the victim recanting, or a victim asking that charges not be brought.
Of 42 allegations of rape or aggravated sexual assault, nine resulted in court-martial charges, nine went through non-judicial punishment, and no action was taken in 24 cases due to lack of evidence, the Navy said.
Hickam’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office said it handled 14 sexual assault cases in fiscal 2007, nine cases in 2008, and seven cases so far this fiscal year, which began in October.
Some victims may have gone to security forces or the Office of Special Investigation and are not reflected in the totals.
There are about 7,200 airmen assigned to Hickam, officials said.
Hickam cases
Both the Navy and Marines would not provide Hawai’i data for sexual assault trends, with the Marines saying the information had to be obtained through a federal Freedom of Information Act request.
Wolford, the vice wing commander, said the Hickam numbers “are very concerning. One sexual assault is concerning – much less seven (so far this fiscal year).”
But he also said he thinks the Air Force, in general, is doing a very good job in making strides to combat sexual assault crime.
“We want to make sure we don’t lose sight of this from a leadership perspective, so this is what we consider a commander’s program,” he said.
In November, Wolford attended an Air Force sexual assault prevention response summit in Washington, D.C.
Victim advocates, who can be a civilian, officer or enlisted airman, are in place at Hickam as a source of support for sex abuse victims, Wolford said.
Newly arriving airmen – and their families – receive sex assault prevention briefings.
Author and filmmaker Angela Shelton – who was herself sexually abused – appeared on base last year. Wolford said the base is bringing in “Voices of Men,” a multimedia play that deals with sexual assault and consent.
The Army said it has increased staffing in Hawai’i, with additional victim advocacy/sexual assault prevention specialists to provide training and counseling.
The Army also said its “Sex Signals” tour will be in Hawai’i from June 8 to 11, with 12 performances using improvisation, humor and audience participation to discuss dating stereotypes, consent and sexual assault.
Confidential option
In 2005, in an effort to encourage sex assault victims to come forward, the Pentagon instituted “restricted reporting,” which allows a victim to confidentially receive help without the initiation of a criminal investigation.
Adriana Ramelli, executive director of the Sex Abuse Treatment Center in Honolulu, said the stress of combat deployments can play into domestic violence and sex assault, but she, too, said it is difficult to identify the main reason for the increasing reports in the military.
“In the civilian sector as well, sometimes the numbers go up, and we don’t have any idea why,” she said. “We hope we have created a safer environment for victims to come forward.”
Ramelli said the military has done a “very good job” of enhancing its sexual assault prevention and response in the past five years.
“I still think there is still a serious problem,” she said, “but I do think that the military is taking a serious look at what is going on and is trying to implement programs that are to the benefit of victims and families.”
Source: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090412/NEWS08/904120375/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT
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