EPIDEMIC?

Sexual-Assault Claims Up at Military Academies

At two of the three U.S. academies last year.

A new study shows that reports of sexual assault increased at two of the three military academies in the U.S. last year. The anonymous survey indicates that sexual misconduct rose across the board, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The numbers also suggest, according to Pentagon and military officials, that more people are encouraged to report assaults—a positive trend if it means they're encouraged to seek help. Even still, the anonymous survey results mean that more assaults are occurring than were before. Specifically, the claims jumped at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, though they dropped at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. "This is almost a new population of folks every four years and that makes it a little bit more difficult for the messages to build up and gather momentum," said Nate Galbreath, deputy director of the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention office. The study showed that about 2 percent of men and more than 12 percent of women said they experienced unwanted sexual contact.