Pentagon Issues Tougher Policies on Sexual Assault

Victims of sexual assault in the military will be able to speak in confidence with medical professionals and victims’ rights advocates for the first time under a new policy being developed by the Pentagon, officials announced Tuesday.

The change, designed to persuade more victims to come forward, is one of several to be instituted by the Pentagon following sexual assault scandals in Iraq and at the Air Force Academy.

The Pentagon plans to establish definitions of sexual assault and sexual harassment, bolster education and training about sexual assault prevention and response, and designate a sexual assault response coordinator at every U.S. military installation in the world.

The changes will apply to all military branches, as well as to the service academies and other academic institutions.

“We want to create a different climate where our people feel comfortable coming forward,” said David Chu, undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness.

But even as the policy changes were made public, victims’ rights groups expressed skepticism that they would work. They said that as long as the Pentagon insisted on policing and investigating itself in allegations of sexual abuse -- rather than ceding to independent groups -- sexual assault would continue to be pervasive in military culture.

“It will not make a difference,” said Dorothy Mackay, a former Air Force officer who is executive director of Survivors Take Action Against Military Personnel, or STAAMP, a national advocacy group for military sexual assault victims.

“It is nothing more than for public perception that they are doing something,” Mackay said. “The Pentagon does not have the ability to change its ways. It would be like asking Saddam Hussein to change his stripes. We can’t expect the same system that’s been allowing this for decades to change overnight.”

Under existing policies, the only officer who can promise confidentiality to an alleged victim of sexual assault is a military chaplain.

With the Pentagon’s proposals, which have been submitted to Congress for review, medics and victims’ advocates also could assure confidentiality. Commanding officers no longer would be able to learn victims’ identities without their consent.

Not guaranteeing confidentiality has proved “to be a barrier to encouraging victims to come forward for a host of reasons, including intimidation, embarrassment and the fear of ruining one’s reputation,” Chu said.

The change would let victims seek medical treatment without triggering an investigation.

In announcing the policy changes at a Pentagon news conference, Chu acknowledged what the Pentagon had said in a report in May -- that the current system was inadequate in preventing, treating and investigating sexual assaults of military personnel.

“The department understands that our traditional system does not afford sexual assault victims the care and support they need across the board, and we are moving aggressively to put new systems in place to address this shortcoming,” Chu said.

Air Force Brig. Gen. K.S. McClain, who developed the new Pentagon policy, said the changes would not be a “silver bullet” but would improve the reporting system.

“There is no overnight solution, and to do this right, it is going to take time,” McClain said.

Victims’ advocacy groups say dozens of women serving in Iraq and Kuwait have reported being assaulted, primarily by male military colleagues.

Last year, Pentagon figures showed that more than 100 service personnel in the Persian Gulf region -- including Iraq and Afghanistan -- reported being sexually assaulted. Military officials did not update the figures Tuesday.

Nearly 150 women came forward in 2003 with accusations that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets at the Air Force Academy during the previous decade.

Many said that after they reported the assaults, they were punished for infractions such as drinking, or were ignored or ostracized by commanders.

Two cadets have been charged with sexual assault stemming from the investigation, and the academy has overhauled its leadership.