RAND study "Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military"

Read The Report

In early 2014, the Department of Defense (DoD) Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) asked the RAND National Defense Research Institute (NDRI) to conduct an independent assessment of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination in the military — an assessment last conducted in 2012 by the department itself with the Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Active Duty Personnel (WGRA).

This report provides initial top-line estimates from the resulting study, the RAND Military Workplace Study (RMWS), which included a survey of 560,000 U.S. service members fielded in August and September of 2014.

Compared to the prior DoD studies, the RMWS takes a new approach to counting individuals in the military who experienced sexual assault, sexual harassment, or gender discrimination. Our measurement of sexual assault aligns closely with the definitions and criteria in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for Article 120 crimes. The survey measures of sexual harassment and gender discrimination, which together we refer to as sex-based military equal opportunity (MEO) violations, use criteria drawn directly from DoD Directive 1350.2. Compared with past surveys that were designed to measure a climate of sexual misconduct associated with illegal behavior, the approach used in the RMWS offers greater precision in estimating the number of crimes and MEO violations that have occurred. However, recognizing that DoD is also interested in trends in sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination, RAND fielded a portion of the 2014 surveys using the same questions as previous DoD surveys on this topic.

Key Findings

RAND Researchers Estimate That, as of Early Fall of 2014, Approximately 20,000 of the U.S. Military's 1.3 Million Active-Duty Members Experienced One or More Sexual Assaults in the Past Year

• This figure includes assaults by other service members, civilians, spouses or others.
• It represents 4.9 percent of active-duty women and 1 percent of active-duty men.

An Estimated 26 Percent of Active-Duty Women and 7 Percent of Active-Duty Men Experienced Sexual Harassment or Gender Discrimination in the Past Year

• Close to one third of women in the Navy and Marines experienced one of these violations in the past year. The majority of these violations involve experiences consistent with a sexually hostile work environment; however, significant numbers of women also indicate having experienced gender discrimination.
• We estimate that in the Army, almost 1 in 12 men experienced such a violation in the past year; in the Navy, it was nearly 1 in 10. For men, the largest source of problems stem from sexually hostile work environments, not gender discrimination or sexual quid pro quo.

The Study Found Significant Differences in Rates of Sexual Assaults and Sex-Based MEO Violations by Branch of Service

• Fewer Air Force men and women experienced these events than their counterparts in the other services.
• In forthcoming reports, RAND will investigate if some of these service differences are attributable to differences in member demographics (e.g., age and education levels), cultures, or policies across services.

Trend Data Suggest That Rates of Unwanted Sexual Contact and Sexual Harassment for Active-Duty Women Have Declined from 2012; Rates for Both Men and Women Are Lower Than in 2006, But About the Same as in 2010

• We estimate that the percentage of active-duty women who experienced unwanted sexual contact as measured by the WGRA methods declined from 6.1 percent in 2012 to 4.3 percent in 2014; the same percentages for men did not see a statistically significant change (1.2 percent in 2012 compared with 0.9 percent in 2014).
• Similarly, estimates for the percentage of women who experienced sexual harassment in the past year declined significantly from 23.2 percent in 2012 to 20.2 percent in 2014; for men, the percentage in 2014 (3.5 percent) was not significantly lower than in 2012 (4.1 percent).

Learn More

Thanks to Half Price Books for Giving Books To VA Hospital

DAV Coffee Cart Volunteers

Last month, Cyril and the manager of Half Price Books in Tukwila got talking and the store decided to donate some remaindered of books to the VA Hospital in Seattle; all we had to do was pick them up and drop them off. After talking it over with Volunteer Services (the branch of the Hospital that manages donations) we picked up a load of about six boxes. First I took a box to the DAV coffee cart in the basement; suggested I use the supply trolly to move the rest. Here's a picture of two volunteers ( we don't take pictures of patients or staff, because of privacy)

Spinal Cord Unit Waiting Area

There are two main book carts in the building lobbies. While I was stocking one, someone from the Spinal Cord Unit asked if they could have some for their waiting area (there are a great many waiting areas through out the hospitals, in the various clinics). I made a little display on the table there. I then went on the the Community Living Center, where they have shelves.
When I returned, I saw lots of people carrying books. One patient in a wheelchair had four in his lap; he seemed very pleased. As one of the guys at the coffee cart said, they get more than 5,000 people a day going through the building, and many of them would like a little reading material for while they are waiting. I stopped by Half-Priced on the way home to show them these pictures. They did a good thing and were happy to see the result. Everyone wins!
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A couple of weeks pass, and we hear from Half Price again. Time for another pickup.

Holy cow - there was a dozen boxes! At more than 40 pounds apiece, that was a lot of schlepping! Fortunately the loading dock staff let us use a flatbed. It was with the confidence of youth that we slung the boxes onto the loading dock, but with the bodies of a somewhat more advanced age that we started moving thereafter.
As we distributed the stock, we ran into the volunteers who were taking books to patient rooms; we had a good conversation about coordinating operations, as they made a selection for the patients they were serving.
I had thought that 12 boxes would be hard to distribute, but after about an hour we had 12 empty boxes. It's not surprising that with thousands of veterans and family members moving through this hospital every day, in addition to the many guests at the CLC and SPU, the book donations moved quickly.
Thanks Half Price Books!

Cyril and a book cart

VA Expands Eligibility for VA Health Care Related to Military Sexual Trauma

From VA Press Release December 1, 2014

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced expanded eligibility for Veterans in need of mental health care due to sexual assault or sexual harassment that occurred during their military service (commonly known as military sexual trauma (MST)).

The expansion primarily pertains to Reservists and National Guard members participating in weekend drill, giving the authority to offer Veterans the appropriate care and services needed to treat conditions resulting from MST that occurred during a period of inactive duty training.

MORE:

• Every VA health care facility has an MST Coordinator who serves as a contact person for MST-related issues. 
• Every VA medical center and Community-based Vet Center offers MST-related outpatient counseling. 
• Currently, all VA health care for mental and physical health conditions related to MST is provided free of charge. 
• Veterans do not need to have a service-connected disability or seeking disability compensation to be eligible for MST-related counseling and care. 
• Veterans also do not need to have reported such incidents to the Department of Defense or possess documentation or records to support their assertion of having experienced such trauma. 
• The determination of whether a Veteran’s condition is MST-related is strictly a clinical determination made by the responsible VA mental health provider. 
• Finally, Veterans need not be enrolled in VA’s health care system to qualify for MST-related treatment, as it is independent of VA’s general treatment authority. 

Learn more about VA’s MST-related services online at www.mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome.asp and see video clips with the recovery stories of Veterans who have experienced MST at http://maketheconnection.net/conditions/military-sexual-trauma .