Women in the Service Coalition, Inc.
WiSCImil.org
Preventing Sexual Assault in the Military
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​Trust creates the cohesion that characterizes high-performing teams. Sexual assault is a monstrous violation of trust that breaks teams and cripples units.
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Not only does sexual assault continue to be a major issue in the military, the current administration is actually rolling back progress.
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During his confirmation hearing, Secretary Hegseth promised Senator Joni Ernst that he would work to “ensure opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and select a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks.”
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https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-statement-after-hegseth-hearing
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However, Secretary Hegseth has yet to select a senior official to address Sexual Assault. On the contrary, a member of the Senior Executive Service specifically tasked with Army SHARP (Sexual Harassment Assault Reporting and Prevention) duties was fired. This executive was extremely qualified, having served as the Deputy of the Independent Review Commission (IRC) on Sexual Assault in the Military, a task force set up by the Department of Defense (DOD) in 2021. The current Army SHARP director is also “under investigation” for insisting that the recommendations of the IRC be implemented as planned.
In June 2021, the IRC released their report and recommendations “to provide the DOD a set of comprehensive and actionable recommendations to improve (their) approach in four lines of effort: accountability, prevention, climate and culture, and victim care and support.” All recommendations were accepted by DOD.
1. The main ACCOUNTABILITY recommendation, the creation of the Office of Special Trial Counsel to ensure sexual assault cases are tried outside the chain of command by experienced prosecutors, took effect in August 2023.
2. The main PREVENTION recommendation, the creation of a PREVENTION workforce, has been ravaged by DOGE.
This work force was created because there were not enough personnel for prevention and survivor care, and existing personnel lacked the expertise for this work. Unfortunately, the current DoD justifies cutting personnel even though they “acknowledged that hiring delays will hurt efforts aimed at a wider array of problems, ranging from suicides to abusive behavior and other bad conduct.”
These cuts will also greatly impact victim/survivor care and support (hirings recommended in the IRC’s fourth line of effort).
3. The third line of effort of the IRC addressed making changes to a climate and culture that for too long tolerated Sexual Assault and Harassment by viewing women and LGBTQ soldiers as less than and not as warriors.
Separate and apart from the recommendations to “fix” the climate and culture, it is widely known throughout the force that both the current Commander in Chief and the current SECDEF have been credibly accused of Sexual Assault. (The CINC was found guilty by a jury of his peers and the SECDEF paid a victim $50K to sign a nondisclosure agreement).
Reaction in the ranks to the new chain of command and their demonstrated hatred of “others” required the Army to issue a statement reminding soldiers and their leaders that SHARP policies were still in effect after a series of executive orders and leadership comments identifying “women” and “female” as “woke/DEI” terms. Many women in the military, especially in combat arms, now report being told by their teammates that they are “DEI Hires.” Military women also reported fellow soldiers removing SHARP and EO policies from unit bulletin boards “because they were not needed now.”
Recently, Secretary Hegseth “called on service secretaries to review equal opportunity programs to ensure discrimination complaints weren't being "weaponized" by disgruntled employees.” This statement reinforces a myth that pervades the culture of the military directly aimed at women.
https://www.newsweek.com/hegseth-walking-eggshells-pentagon-policy-2064423
The erasure of military women, including deleting pages from military websites and resources, disbanding Women’s Initiative Teams and DACOWITS, and ending Women, Peace, & Security Programs add up to a deliberate and credible effort to further establish women as outsiders in military culture: to position them as “enemies inside the wire.”
During the first Trump administration during FY 2018, sexual assault prevalence increased by 44 percent among women (men’s prevalence stayed the same). More than 20,000 Service members were the victims of sexual assault that year (13,000 women and 7,500 men). Fewer than 8,000 per year reported that assault, according to the Department’s own annual surveys.
(DoD SAPRO. (2021). Appendix B: Statistical Data on Sexual Assault. Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, 11.)
In the most recent SAPRO report (May 2025) reporting was down and DOD did not conduct a prevalence analysis. A drop in reporting can indicate fear of reporting driven by a hostile culture.
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“Sexual violence is an outgrowth of lingering “subcultures of misogyny,” as recently described by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Approximately 1 in 6 soldiers; 1 in 5 sailors; 1 in 12 Marines; and 1 in 5 Airmen are women. Without strong, effective leadership, a narrow version of manhood can flourish, isolating women and LGBTQ+ troops and breaking down unit cohesion. Often service members from communities of color are isolated as well. “This ‘othering dynamic is especially concerning given that research shows men are more likely than women to view victims as ‘deserving’ or blameworthy for an assault, as well as more likely to exonerate perpetrators.”
(DOD IRC Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, July 2021, page 180)
The Department of Defense has too long promised to solve this problem, acknowledging that it directly affects readiness. The path was laid out by the Independent Review Commission, and its recommendations must be implemented as quickly as possible.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT info@wiscimil.org