WASHINGTON — A new Pentagon report to Congress shows the number of reported sexual assaults in the U.S. military stayed steady at 6,172 in 2016.
But defense officials, trying to put a spin on the issue, told members of the media that more people are choosing to report a sexual assault is a sign of progress.
Statistics show the 6,172 sexual assaults reported was up from 6,083 in 2015 and 6,131 in 2014.
Military officials say a sexual assault includes everything from groping to rape.
Navy Rear Adm. Ann Burkhardt, director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said the data shows the military is on the right track, but in the same breath says more work needs to be done.
“We’re not confusing progress with success,” she said, noting that “retaliation is still an issue.”
Burkhardt says the latest survey indicates 58 percent of men and women who formally reported a sex assault also indicated they experienced a negative consequence.
The consequences included some sort of reprisal as well as mixed reactions from other service members.
