As a recent study points out, conservatively, sexual assaults in the U. S. military are an unacceptably frequent occurrence, and available government statistics could, therefore, be largely accurate. Of these, the Department of Defense discovered about 35,900 incidents in the fiscal year of 2021 and 29,000 in the fiscal year of 2023.
On the other hand, the study, which was under the umbrella of the Costs of War project at Brown University, estimates that the actual figures are far higher, to be precise: 75,569 cases in 2021 and the figure will reduce slightly to 73,695 in 2023.
The analysis demonstrates that almost a quarter of all active-duty women and 1. Nine per cent of active-duty men reported sexual assault during the Afghanistan involvement from 2001 to 2021. The study reveals an important point that was rather disappointing: among the service members, Black women and the members of the LGBTQ community were more susceptible to harassment and assault.
Despite all the campaigns launched in a bid to try and solve this problem, the incidence of sexual assault is all too high. According to the study titled ‘Acceptable war, unacceptable rape’ written by the Professor of the University of Sheffield, Jennifer Greenberg, the setting of force readiness as the ultimate priority enabled sexual violence and gender inequality to remain systematic within the military forces.
When asked by Military Times to comment on the study and its findings, the Pentagon did not address the study’s methods and processes but said continually to work on creating healthy command climates and to enhance the responsibility regarding sexual assault cases.
“Sexual violence will not be tolerated, condoned, or ignored within our ranks”,
the Pentagon was quoted saying.
The worry about the cases of sexual assault in the military persisted, and thus, the U. S democrats, in the 2021 defence bill, redid the military justice system by transferring the authority to prosecute all forms of rape and sexual assault cases not from commanders.
This legislation modification was, to some extent, motivated by the brutal killing of Army specialist Vanessa Guillen, who went missing and was later found dead after she filed a complaint of sexual abuse.
