Pentagon chief says more work needed in sexual assault fight

By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sexual assault in the U.S. military remains far too common despite a 27 percent drop in the number of incidents over the past two years, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday as the Pentagon released its annual report on the problem. Carter said research last year estimated there were 20,300 sexual assaults in the military in 2014 and also identified new areas where work needs to be done, including addressing sexual assault against men and retaliation for reporting assaults. "That's clearly far, far too many," Carter said of the sexual assault figure. "The report makes it crystal clear that we have to do more." Officials said a 27 percent drop in the prevalence of sexual assault, coupled with an increase in the number of people actually reporting the crime was positive news because it showed the Pentagon fight against the problem was bearing fruit. The U.S. military has been under intense pressure to address the problem of sexual assault following a spate of high-profile incidents in recent years. The Pentagon brass and Congress have ordered scores of initiatives to tackle the issue. Sexual assault is a vastly underreported crime. Pentagon research showed 6,131 troops reported a sexual assault in 2014, an 11 percent increase over the previous year. Officials said the trend showed service members were becoming more confident about reporting the crime. At the same time, a confidential survey of military personnel conducted every two years by the Pentagon estimated 18,900 people in the services experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2014, down from about 26,000 in 2012, a drop of 27 percent. The number included 10,400 men and 8,500 women. A new survey by the RAND research group that aimed to clarify the meaning of unwanted sexual contact reported very similar numbers, with 10,600 men and 9,600 women saying they experienced sexual assault in 2014. The Pentagon plans to use the new survey going forward. Retaliation for reporting sexual assault continued to be a concern, with 62 percent of women assault victims saying they had been subjected to some form of social or professional retaliation. A RAND military workplace study in 2014 also showed that men and women report fundamentally different circumstances surrounding their sexual assaults. Men were more likely than women to experience multiple incidents over the year and to characterize it as hazing intended to humiliate them, the survey found. They also were more likely to say the assault occurred in the workplace and that no alcohol was involved, the report found. Sexual assault of women often involves alcohol and takes place outside the workplace. (Reporting by David Alexander; editing by Andrew Hay)