Sexual assault victims need more help, military study says

After a yearlong review, a military task force has found that the services have made some progress in attacking the scourge of sexual assault in the ranks, but that too often the perpetrators go free and the victims do not get the assistance they deserve.

Among its many recommendations, the task force urges more attention to the plight of male victims, citing the tragic case of Pfc. Cody Openshaw detailed in The Virginian-Pilot in October.

Openshaw, 25, a medically discharged paratrooper from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, died of prescription drug toxicity in 2008, six years after an alleged sexual assault by a superior. The suspect was never prosecuted, at least in part because the full story of the assault didn't emerge until after the victim's death.

Tens of thousands of service members have encountered sexual assault, surveys indicate, and more than half the victims are men. Too often, the task force found, the victims - inhibited by fear, shame, embarrassment and lack of confidence in the military justice system - fail to come forward. As a result, the crime is vastly underreported and underprosecuted.

"Culture change is essential for the military services to

improve how they prevent and address sexual assault," the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services said in its report. The study was released Dec. 1, triggering a 90-day period for Defense Secretary Robert Gates to review and comment on it before sending it to Congress.

The task force visited 60 installations around the world and spoke to more than 3,500 people, including more than 60 assault victims as well as legal and investigative personnel, senior policy officials and victim advocates.

Because most victims in the general population are female, civilian sexual assault prevention and response programs are oriented primarily toward women. Similar programs have been adopted by the military without consideration of the fact that the armed forces are 85 percent male, the task force found.

"This focus on female victims in a predominantly male environment makes it all the more difficult for male sexual assault victims to seek assistance," it said.

For instance, the task force found, military hospitals in some cases are conducting follow-up exams on male victims in obstetrics/gynecology wards.

In focus groups, some participants told the task force that the military's professed policy of zero tolerance for sexual assault is often just an empty slogan.

Most personnel now receive training in sexual assault prevention and response, the task force found, but it seems only marginally effective. Some service members described it with phrases such as "death by PowerPoint." Many said the training is aimed too narrowly at women, ignoring male-on-male assault.

Ease of reporting assaults is also an issue. The services all have designated sexual assault response coordinators, but when the task force tried to contact some of them using their published phone numbers, sometimes there was no response. In other cases, the response took several hours.

The task force found that when assault victims report the crime, they are frequently dissatisfied with how they are treated during the investigative process.

Since 2005, victims have had a "restricted reporting" option, which allows them access to confidential medical care and counseling before deciding whether to make a formal complaint. But that option does not provide a truly confidential resource throughout the legal process, the task force found, recommending that victims be offered confidential communication with a trained, certified victim advocate.

The task force also recommended heightening oversight of the Defense Department's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office by temporarily placing it under the jurisdiction of the deputy secretary of defense until it meets its established goals. In addition, it recommended reforming the budget process to overcome inconsistent funding of the program among the military services.

Those are welcome proposals, said Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, but "the real question is, is the department going to begin to act on some of these?

"We're concerned about the department communicating that these are crimes and that they will be punished," she said. "People need to get the message that this activity just won't be tolerated."

Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com