Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office 3

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Were trans ferred to the installation listed due to duty assignment change or an expedited transfer The installations listed are those installations that were managing the sexual assault report at the end of the time period listed. As a result, these numbers may not reflect a record of incidents that actually occurred at or near the installation. The number of reports at each installation is not the same as a sexual assault crime rate. A crime rate captures all the crimes that occur within a given area – not just the crimes that are reported (more about this follows i n the next section). Installations with more reports tend to be the larger military installations. However, comparing the nu mber of reports at one installation to another may not give an accurate picture of the differences between them. There are a number of factors that can contribute to the differences in numbers among installations. For example, at installations that house recruit training, the number of cases reported may be larger due to new personnel reporting sexual assaults that occurred prior to entering military service. Most new members of the military receive their first introduction to the SAPR program at basic training. SARCs at the basic training facilities capture reports from new Service members who seek to address a prior history of sexual assault by making a Restricted or Unrestricted Report. Additionally, larger installations may also be managing larger numbers of expedited transfer cases due to their greater availability of open positions, medical care, and support facilities. When victimized Service members transfer, their cases also transfer to the new installation’s SARC, if so elected by the service member. Finally, larger installations also have increased numbers of deployed personnel. If a service member is sexually assaulted on deployment and reports upon their return from deployment, the member’s home installation will gain those cases upon his or her return to ensure continued support and care. Since 2005, the DOD has put policy in place to encourage more Service members to report sexual assault, regardless of when the incidents occurred. As a result, the percentage of Service members who choose to report the crime has increased over time. Prior to FY14, 15% or fewer military victims reported a sexual assault to a military authority each year. For FY14 and FY15, DOD estimates that nearly 25% of the Service members who experienced a sexual assault in those years reported the incident to either SAPR program personnel or military law enforcement. In FY16, the DOD estimates that about 32% of Service members who experienced a sexual assault reported the incident to either SAPR program personnel or military law enforcement. To understand the full magnitude of the problem of sexual assault in the military, DoD sponsors confidential surveys that scientifically sample the military population. These representative surveys give the Department very reliable estimates about how many Service members likely experienced a sexual assault in a given year. The percentage of a population that experiences a problem in the past year is also known as the “prevalence” or occurrence of the problem. The results of the most recent prevalence survey were published in DoD’s FY16 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military.

Congress requires the DoD to report the number of sexual assault allegations it receives each year involving Service members. This “Annual Report” includes the number of Restricted and Unrestricted Reports made to DoD SAPR personnel and investigators at MCIOs.

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