19 Sexual Assualts reported in the last year

Colleges and Universities A-Z Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs
1

<p>The Colorado Springs Gazette has a tendancy to emphasize negative
news regarding the Academy. That said I really expected that 3 years
after General’s Oelstrom, Dallager, and Rosa this would be a much
different number. I know I feel safer with my duaghter going to
school at the Academy than any other University, it is just hard to
understand how this could still be happening.</p>

<p>16 reported in last academic year at West Point; 5 at Naval Academy
By TOM ROEDER
THE GAZETTE
December 8, 2007 - 7:02AM</p>

<p>Nineteen sexual assaults were reported at the Air Force Academy in
the past academic year — the most of the three service academies
included in a Pentagon report on sexual assault response programs
released Friday. </p>

<p>The Air Force Academy had three more reported assaults from June 2006
to June 2007 than the Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., which had
16 reported cases. The Naval Academy had five reported sexual
assaults during that time. </p>

<p>Air Force Academy officials say they saw an increase in assault
reports over the 2006 academic year, but didn’t have numbers on
previous years available late Friday. </p>

<p>Academy officials took an optimistic view of the statistics, saying
more sex assaults are reported at the Air Force school because cadets
are well-trained in identifying unwanted sexual conduct and trust
that administrators will properly handle reports. </p>

<p>“The numbers are up from last year, but we consider this a measure of
progress because there is trust in the system,” said spokesman Meade
Warthen. </p>

<p>Because the Pentagon reports have repeatedly changed which numbers it
uses to measure the prevalence of sexual assault at the service
academies, comparing the numbers is difficult. </p>

<p>The Air Force Academy, which came under fire in 2003 when female
cadets said their allegations of sexual assault were mishandled or
ignored, got high marks for its programs to assist victims and raise
campus awareness. The report was mandated by Congress after the 2003
scandal. </p>

<p>Despite the number of reported assaults, which included seven
reported rapes and 10 “indecent assaults,” which can range from
fondling to unwanted kissing, Pentagon leaders said the Air Force
meets or exceeds its standards. </p>

<p>“The United States Air Force Academy leadership has clearly
demonstrated commitment to their Sexual Assault Prevention and
Response Program through sustained and dedicated efforts,” the
Pentagon said in a news release. </p>

<p>Half those cadets and midshipman who reported sexual assaults last
year did so under a confidential reporting option, the Pentagon said. </p>

<p>“Under this option, military members may choose to obtain medical,
mental health care and other services without becoming involved in
the criminal justice process,” the Pentagon said. </p>

<p>Sexual assault reports for Defense Department agencies have risen
sharply since 2004. The number of reported sexual assaults for all
services increased from 1,700 in 2004 to 2,277 in 2006, according to
the Pentagon.</p>

2

<p>Indecent assaults - unwanted kissing. Can someone explain this to me? How does the Academy deal with the sort of incidents - are they basically he said/she said cases?</p>

3

<p>Sexual assault is at the very least a character flaw, at the worst a pathological one. The only thing the academies can do is encourage their reporting, respond appropriately when they do occur, and try to find a way to screen applicants and educate these future officers in such a way as to minimize the occurance. They will never eliminate it because some bad apples will always be able to "fly under the radar" until its too late. Every year a small number of cadets and midshipmen are dismissed (or worse--criminally charged) for a variety of offenses, academic or behavioral. Its hard to believe at first, when you subscribe to the notion that these are among our nations "best and brightest", but the fact is that while most of them are, a few of them are not.</p>

4

<p>The Academy will deal with the activity very harshly. That said they do not want to create an environment were every male cadet is a predator, and every female cadet a victim. When an allegation is made it will be investigated fully. They recently found a C1C not guilty of rape. No one there wants to return to the atmosphere of the late 90's and early 2000's. After the investigations in the 2003-2005 time period a lot of attention was placed on prevention and reporting. All female 4C's must attend self defence training, and endless sexual harrassment classes. This doesn't change the fact that the Cadets are young adults, many away from home for the first time. New relationships form, and sometimes people make bad decisions. You can't be with them all the time and must trust they will do the right thing when no one else is looking.</p>

5

<p>My first look at the numbers is that there may be under reporting at one Academy given that the cohorts are the same. The key is developing a "culture" where people can come forward and I believe USAFA has worked hard in this regard. The cited incidents may be more reflective of an environment where woman are empowered to step forward and the actual number of events may actually be less than historical norms.</p>

<p>The opposite would be my undergraduate experience...same size student body but 50 to 60 unplanned pregnancies per semester, no culture to report anything, and a lot of lives ruined by alcohol fueled carnage.</p>

6

<p>"alcohol fueled carnage" is where most of our problems come from. Almost every sexual assault at the academy happens when at least one party (usually both) have been drinking (almost always excessively).</p>

<p>The academy does a TON to educate people about how to avoid and how to report assaults. So, even if you didn't pay attention the first 20 times, you should still get the message during briefing 21.</p>

7

<p>I'm pretty sure we've all had 333-SARC (7272) drilled into our brains. As others have said, the Academy provides an immense amount of education on the subject, and I'd be willing to bet that far fewer incidents occur here than at State U.</p>

<p>(No offense State...)</p>

8

<p>The SARC (always pronounced "sark") is the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, by the way.</p>

9

<p>I agree with Gasdoc. If anything, this article should be looked at as USAFA creating the culture for preventing sexual assault as said before. Also, my impression after 2010 having a meeting with the Commandant is that our culture is being reflected in those numbers.</p>

10

<p>"Academy officials took an optimistic view of the statistics, saying
more sex assaults are reported at the Air Force school because cadets
are well-trained in identifying unwanted sexual conduct and trust
that administrators will properly handle reports. "</p>

<p>This is likely to be true cause of the atypically low numbers for the Naval School.</p>