*WASHINGTON: The number of sexual assaults reported in the US militaryincreased last year by 10 percent, Pentagon officials said Monday,attributing the spike to the fact that victims feel freer to come forward.*
The number of sexual assaults brought to the attention of militaryauthorities was 6,769 in 2017, up from 6,172 in 2016, according to thereport from the Defense Department’s sexual assault prevention and responseoffice.
For the period under review, the proportion of women in the armed forcesincreased slightly, from 16% at the end of 2016 to 16.3% at the end ofDecember 2017.
[image: US military sexual assaults]link>
The number of reported assaults within the ranks of the Marines saw thesharpest increase (14.7%), while they rose 8.4% in the Army, 9.3% in theNavy and 9.2% in the Air Force.
“We will not rest until we eliminate this crime from our ranks,” saidAdmiral Ann Burkhardt, director of the Pentagon’s sexual assault preventionand response office.
“We consider this desire to report (sexual assault) as the result of 10years of efforts to improve victim support, criminal investigations andmilitary justice.”
A single phone number has been set up for victims of sexual assault in themilitary, who can decide not to make their case public, even to theirsuperiors. Only the prevention and response office is informed.