Armed Forces, Sexual Harassment in

History

An advisory committee to the Secretary of Defense on women's issues first mentioned sexual harassment in a 1980 report, urging that the DoD publish policy statements that define and prohibit sexual harassment, establish training programs and procedures for reporting violations, and provide for disciplinary measures for violations of that policy.

In the early 1980s, the armed services initiated the development of policies and procedures for dealing [Page 31]with sexual harassment complaints and programs for training military personnel on sexual harassment. The Office of the Secretary of Defense conducted the first DoD-wide survey on sexual harassment in 1988.

In 1991, sexual harassment in the military garnered media attention after widely reported incidents of alcohol abuse, destruction of private property, and sexual assault at the annual convention of the Tailhook Association sponsored by the U.S. Navy. Three investigations of the incidents ended in the resignation of high-level navy officials, but none of the alleged perpetrators was ever held accountable.

In 1995, the House Armed Services Committee conducted hearings on sexual harassment and specifically examined how to improve the military complaint system. The same year, the DoD convened a Task Force on Discrimination and Sexual Harassment and conducted its second Sexual Harassment Survey. A third survey was conducted in 2002.

In 1996, incidents of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment occurring at the Army's Aberdeen (Maryland) Proving Grounds were revealed. In the aftermath, several drill sergeants were convicted by courts-martial of rape or charges related to sexual harassment and the army convened a senior review panel to examine the problem of sexual harassment armywide.

Rates of Sexual Harassment

The 1995 and 2002 surveys asked questions about a wide range of unprofessional gender-related behaviors as well as behaviors defined as sexual harassment. According to the surveys, over this time period there was a general decline in unprofessional behaviors and sexual harassment. Between 1995 and 2002, the overall rate of sexual harassment declined from 45% to 24% for women and from 8% to 3% for men. The largest decline occurred for U.S. Marine Corps women, whose rate decreased from 57% to 27%. The rate of sexual assault for women declined from 6% to 3%.

Training

In the 2002 survey, 77% of women and 79% of men reported receiving sexual harassment training within the previous 12 months. Ninety percent of respondents agreed that the training provided a good understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment, and over 80% agreed that the training provided them with useful tools for dealing with sexual harassment.

...