Half of Women in Navy Study Complain of Sexual Harassment

More than half the Navy women interviewed in a worldwide study said they have been victims of sexual harassment, and Navy Secretary James H. Webb Jr. said today that steps are being taken to end it.

The three-month study also found that some commanders encouraged “sexual politics” in exchange for advancing the careers of junior women officers and enlisted personnel.

Webb disclosed the results of the study at a Pentagon news conference and said the Navy is working to correct the problem through education. But he said no increase in court-martial penalties is planned.

“The key judgment is that we are emphasizing (sexual harassment) won’t be tolerated any more than drug abuse or anything else,” Webb said.

He said the study of sexual harassment involved “an extremely difficult and emotionally charged couple of months” because of the candid way it exposed and discussed problems.

But he also said the subject of women in the military “is the most difficult manpower issue the United States military has ever faced.”

Rear Adm. Ralph West, who directed the study, said, “We find a lack of awareness is the major thing. The males perceive there isn’t a problem because they do not recognize all the forms sexual harassment takes.”

West, a top Navy personnel official, said, “Our training programs in the past have been very skimpy in this area and have not really covered the full range of sexual harassment.”

Almost all of the sexual harassment reported by more than half of the 1,400 women interviewed was verbal abuse, Webb said. An additional 400 Navy men were interviewed.