The Patriot Post® · Pentagon Reports Increase in Sexual Assault

While the Pentagon’s new report estimates the instances of “unwanted sexual contact” in the ranks of the military dropped 27% to 19,000 cases in the 2014 fiscal year, the number of reported sexual assaults continue to rise. According to USA Today, there were 2,828 reported sexual assaults in 2010. By 2014, the number jumped 63% to 4,608 cases. But at least one lawmaker says the culture in the military still needs reform. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in a statement that the report shows 62% of the members of the Armed Forces who reported a sexual assault felt retaliated against – a number unchained from previous years. Former Chief Prosecutor of the Air Force Col. Don Christensen said, “As a military prosecutor, I have personally seen the abuse and injustice victims of sexual assault face in the military. If you really knew what victims have to go through when they walk into a military courtroom; walk by their co-workers, their bosses, their commanders, their first sergeants, their squad leaders; all sitting behind her rapist; you would understand why we need to change the way we do things in the military.” While the military has often become a cultural petri dish for leftist social reformers, the depravity of sexual assault deserves no place in America’s Armed Forces. But the stats are also flawed, and Democrats’ efforts are no way to address the problem.