GAO: Change needed at military academies

The Defense Department has "only minimally" addressed congressional interest in how well sexual assault prevention programs are working at the nation's military academies, a government report released Tuesday found.

The General Accountability Office report said the department has "not been conducting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of academy data or programs before forwarding academy reports to Congress."

"As a result, it has been difficult for DOD and Congress to judge how well the academies are addressing these important issues," the report said.

The GAO is recommending the Defense Department adopt comprehensive and uniform reporting requirements to analyze incident data, survey results and academy programs designed to battle sexual harassment and assault.

The report said the department is starting to formally take steps to analyze and assess the effectiveness of academy programs. But until the changes are formalized, the department "will not be in a position to provide congressional decision makers with meaningful information."

The country's military academies have faced more scrutiny since 2003, when women at the Air Force Academy in Colorado alleged that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets over the previous decade and were either ignored or ostracized by commanders when they came forward.

Sexual assault allegations have also surfaced since then at the Naval and Coast Guard academies.

While the Coast Guard Academy has taken the initiative to establish a sexual harassment prevention program — even though it is not required by law to do so — Coast Guard headquarters still doesn't have a comprehensive framework to oversee the academy's efforts, the report found.

The report also said the Coast Guard Academy does not report statistics to lawmakers and noted that Congress may want to consider requiring it to do so.

Although the academies keep track of sexual harassment and assault data, the report cited a 2006 survey that indicated cases may be underreported.

For years 2003 through 2006, the academies' military equal opportunity offices reported 32 sexual harassment cases. The Sexual Assault Response Coordinators reported 25 restricted cases of sexual assault — in which incidents are privately reported without triggering an investigation, and military criminal investigators reported 96 unrestricted sexual assault cases.

However, the report cited estimates from the department's most recent survey of academy students in March and April of 2006 that suggested about 200 female and 100 male students may have experienced "unwanted sexual contact" in a year.

While the academies have taken steps to prevent and respond to the problem, evidence of underreporting "points to the need for enhanced oversight," the report found.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, reviewed data on sexual harassment and assault at the academies between 2003 and 2006 for the report. The GAO also interviewed 70 students at the academies, about 17 at each, and school officials.

The report examined programs at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.