Roughly one out of five military women report sexual abuse

More female servicemembers reporting sexual abuse
By Gregg Zoroya
USA Today
Published: April 23, 2013

Roughly one out of five military women say they were victims of unwanted sexual contact by another servicemember since joining the military, according to a Pentagon health survey conducted in 2011 and released Monday.

The highest rate of sexual abuse was in the Marine Corps: Nearly 30% of women said they suffered unwanted sexual contact by another military member. Close behind were the Army and Navy, each with about 24% of women raising the issue.

The sexual abuse rates appear to be significantly higher than similar survey findings from the 2008, although the Pentagon changed the way it conducted the 2011 survey of 34,000 troops, so comparisons are difficult.

Still, questions about unwanted sexual conduct were virtually identical in both surveys and in 2008, 11% to 12% of female soldiers and sailors said they were victims of unwanted touching, along with 17% of women who were Marines. About 29,000 troops were surveyed in 2008.
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