Report Says Sexual Assaults at US Military Academies 'Steadily Escalating' Since 2009

New insight into the rising number of sexual assaults in the United States was given by a new report which claims that such incidents have been steadily rising in American military academies since 2009. It says that sexual assaults at the nation's three military academies jumped by 23 percent overall this year, but the data signaled a continued reluctance by victims to seek criminal investigations.

The data outlined the number of assaults rose from 65 in the 2011 academic year to 80 in 2012. However, nearly half the assaults involved victims who sought confidential medical or other care and did not trigger an investigation. There were 41 assaults reported in 2010, the New York Daily News reports.

According to the report, the number of assaults reported by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., increased, while reports at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., declined.

The report divides the assaults into two categories, restricted and unrestricted, in which unrestricted reports rose slightly from 38 last year to 42 this year, and those are provided to either law enforcement or military commanders for an investigation, the report said.

Meanwhile, restricted reports jumped from 27 last year to 38 this year, and in those cases victims sought medical care and advocacy services but did not seek an official investigation, the report added.

Source-ANI