There have been shocking reports of an unusually large number of sexual assaults in the U.S. military over the years. The University of Michigan reported on Sept. 11, 2014 that the U.S. military has made some progress with sexual assault training but there is more that can be done. There have been questions raised about the effectiveness of sexual assault training by the U.S. military in a new University of Michigan study.
The problem of sexual assaults in the U.S. military lead to the creation of a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office by the Department of Defense in in 2005. Sexual assault training which is conducted by the five branches of the military is overseen by this office. However, outside researchers have not done much evaluation of this training.
For this study University of Michigan psychology and women’s studies researchers analyzed responses from greater than 24,000 active duty personnel from all five branches of the U.S. military including the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard. The researchers discovered that military sexual assault training appears to often be deficient in content, particularly in the eyes of the personnel for whom this training is most relevant.
Victims are often not certain of their rights and options due to inadequate training. Furthermore, potential responders such as officers are often not certain how to manage the situation. It is feared that deficient training could perpetuate an institutional culture which is ignorant or even tolerant of sexual assault. It has been suggested this training can be effective when it is done right. However, it appears this training is often not done right.
This study has been published by the American Journal of Community Psychology. Sexual assault has been recognized as an insidious problem in the U.S. military. In 2010 the U.S. Department of Defense annual report on military sexual assault concluded that effective training on sexual assault is given to most active duty members. However, the results of this study have caste doubt on this assertion.
The thought of a culture of ignorance and tolerance for the serious problem of sexual assault developing in the U.S. military is shocking. Therefore investigations into this problem in the U.S. military should be ongoing. Similar initiatives are of course also necessary in the civilian sector.
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