A summary released by the US Department of Defense shows reports of sexual assault at Fort Bragg increased by 28 per cent in 2016 over the year before.
The summary, issued by the DoD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office on Friday, revealed that North Carolina’s Fort Bragg received 146 reports of sexual assault in 2016, as compared to 114 reports in 2015.
Fort Bragg is said to be the biggest military installation in the world, servicing about 50,000 enlisted, and is home to many Army special forces and airborne units. The base recently made headlines on November 14, following a soldier’s collapse and subsequent death while on a physical training run.
A new Department of Defense report divided up sexual assault reports by individual military installations for the first time. The report covered new claims made during the 2016 fiscal year
According to the report, sexual assault reports at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg rose 28 per cent
The new DoD report, which covered all the military bases in the US and abroad, represents the first time that sexual assault report data has been broken down per base,Reuters reported.
In the military, sexual assault covers the gamut from groping to rape. The statistics in the new report covered non-domestic, abuse-related adult sexual assaults that were ‘received or managed by’ the individual military installations’ Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARC).
According to the DoD, just because a sexual assault report was made on a base, it did not mean that the incident occurred at that particular base or even in that year, the News & Observer said.
The DoD allows victims of sexual assault to report their assault to their SARC at any time and place that they choose to do so. Subsequently, it is possible for a report to be filed on base, even if the assault occurred in the civilian sector or prior to the person’s entering military service.
The new figures seen in the DoD’s Reports of Sexual Assault Received at Military Installations and Combat Areas of Interest covered the fiscal year from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016.
The report showed that the frequency of sexual assault reports seemed to be on the rise at bigger bases.
The report showed that sexual assault allegations rose by about three per cent at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina
The report was not all bad news, though, as several bases showed decreases in sexual assault reports, as at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, where reports fell almost 45 per cent
Reports were up at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville, North Carolina, had 169 reports of sexual assault in 2016, up three per cent compared to 164 the year before.
Meanwhile, California’s Naval Base San Diego saw a 13 per cent rise in reports, going from 165 reports in 2015 to 187 reports in 2016. And Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood Army base saw at 25 per cent increase in claims, from 104 sexual assault reports in 2015 to 130 reports in 2016.
Abroad, Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan — headquarters of the 7th Fleet, which suffered a tugboat versus destroyer collision on Saturday and saw two fatal collisions over the summer — saw an almost 77 per cent rise in reports, up from 30 reports in 2015 to 53 reports in 2016.
Sexual assault reports were seen to drop at some military installations, though.
At Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, the number of reports fell almost 45 per cent, from 49 reports in 2015 down to 27 reports in 2016. At Georgia’s Fort Benning saw a more than 26 per cent in reports, from 90 in 2015 to 67 in 2016.
Florida’s Naval Air Station Pensacola saw almost an 18 per cent decrease in reports, down from 45 reports in 2015 to 37 reports. Virginia’s Naval Station Norfolk — said to be the world’s largest naval station — showed a 7.2 per cent decrease in reports, dropping from 291 reports in 2015 to 270 reports in 2016.
The DoD report also tallied up the number of sexual assault reports by military branch. The number of 2016 reports from Army, Navy and Marines bases were down marginally from 2015’s reports.
At Army bases, there were 2,205 total reports in 2016, compared to the 2,217 reports made in 2015. Navy bases saw 1,285 total reports, compared to 1,243 reports. Marine bases came in at 825 total reports, versus 837 reports.
The Air Force, however, showed a 3.36 per cent increase in sexual assault reports, rising from 1,009 total reports in 2015 to 1,043 reports in 2016.
The DoD believes that less than a third of service members reported their sexual assaults in 2016. Reuters reported that the military has said that an anonymous, biannual survey reveals a more accurate estimate of the number of sexual assaults experienced by military personnel.
According to the latest survey, 14,900 service members experienced some kind of sexual assault in 2016, down from 20,300 in 2014.