From The Citadel to Military Recruiting – Sexual Harassment in Military More Pervasive Than Ever

September 1, 2006

Last week the Citadel, a public military institution, unveiled a student survey conducted on campus last spring that indicated an alarming problem: Of the 118 female cadets enrolled, 114 responded—and nearly 20 percent reported being sexually assaulted since starting classes. Sixty-eight percent reported having been sexually harassed. According to the survey results, almost all of the assaults occurred on campus and involved another cadet.

"The statistics are startling," said National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy. "We commend the leadership of The Citadel for initiating the survey, for making it public, and for making a commitment to change the culture that enabled such behavior. The department of Defense and the armed services would do well to follow suit."

On Monday, the Department of Defense announced it would closely monitor military recruiters and their commanders after two eye-opening investigations, one from the Associated Press (AP), and one from the government's Government Accountability Office (GAO). The investigations showed growing military recruiter misconduct that ranged from reports of fraternization to forcible rape. The AP report released on August 20 shows that in 2005, more than 100 potential female recruits were victims of sexual misconduct by recruiters. The GAO report showed that recruiters taking part in such misconduct rose from 400 cases in 2004 to 630 cases in 2005.

Comprehensive statistics on incidents of sexual assault and harassment in all branches of the military are unavailable due to the Department of Defense's failure to implement a military-wide system of data collection on reports of such incidents. It can only be assumed that alarmingly high rates of sexual assault are not limited to the arenas of recruitment and military colleges. Individual testimonies from women like Suzanne Swift, who reports being sexually harassed and raped, and finds no justice after relaying the incidents to military authorities, and continuing reports of U.S. service members' sexually assaulting and raping of civilian women in the Middle East, collectively demonstrate that violence against women is not only prevalent but tolerated in the U.S. military.

The National Organization for Women condemns these acts of violence, the perpetrators, and the military authorities who fail to take action to punish offenders and prevent further violence.

NOW applauds members of Congress who have pressured the Department of Defense to address sexual assault in the military. People in this country have every right to expect a military that protects, rather than preys upon, its women service members and recruits, and the civilian women in areas of armed conflict.

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906

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