Exclusive: Female troops saw the highest level of unwanted sexual contact since Pentagon began collecting data

WASHINGTON – A new Pentagon survey shows women in the military endured the highest level of unwanted sexual contact since the Defense Department began tracking the data 16 years ago, a startling finding that shows sexual crimes rising steadily despite hundreds of millions spent to curb the problem and vows by senior leaders to tackle it.

The Pentagon estimates that sexual assaults among female service members surged an estimated 35% from 2018 to 2021. The survey shows that 8.4% of women and 1.5% of men in the active-duty military said they had been the victim of a sex crime, ranging from groping to rape, according to results of the survey obtained by USA TODAY. In 2018, an estimated 6.2% of women in the armed services were victims of unwanted sexual contact.

The previous high for women was 6.8% in 2006, the same year that produced the highest on record for men at 1.8%.

USA TODAY obtained some of the new data from sources familiar with a briefing that was given to members of Congress late Wednesday. The sources were not authorized to speak publicly before the report's release.

Other findings: About 1 in 5 troops – 29% of women and 10% of men – reported their assault, and data shows that trust in the military to protect privacy of victims, ensure safety, and treat accusers with dignity and respect is declining.

The Pentagon's so-called prevalence survey had been delayed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is considered the best measure of sexual abuse because it relies on an anonymous survey of troops to estimate the extent of the problem, rather than on formal complaints of sexual assault, a crime that is underreported.

In one of his first acts as defense secretary, Lloyd Austin named combating sexual assault and harassment a top priority. At President Joe Biden's direction, Austin ordered an independent commission to develop solutions to the crisis, including changes to the military justice system.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, in announcing the Pentagon's new strategy last year, said "sexual harassment and sexual assault have been serious problems in our force, with lethal consequences for service members and harmful effects on our combat readiness."

The last comprehensive survey was released in 2019, showing 20,500 instances of unwanted sexual contact among troops, a 38% increase over the 14,900 estimated in the last biennial survey in 2016. That jump came despite nearly $200 million in Pentagon spending to prevent and address the crime.

A change in collecting data for 2021 means this report's estimates are not directly comparable with those in previous surveys, according to a congressional source and defense official with access to the information but who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

The Pentagon's report was released publicly Thursday.

The report shows sexual crimes occurred across the services in 2021. More than 13.4% of the female Marine Corps members, about 2,200 accusers, reported unwanted sexual contact, the worst among the military branches. That is followed by more than 10% of women in the Navy, nearly 6,700 victims; 8.4% of Army women, about 6,200; and 5.5% of the women in the Air Force, 3,800.

Marine men who were victims of sex crimes outnumbered women, with more than 2,300 Marines indicating unwanted sexual contact.

For all active-duty troops, men and women, the estimated number of victims of unwanted sexual contact was more than 35,800 in 2021.

More:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sexual assaults on female troops in military surged 2018-2021