Plan to Prevent and Respond to Sexual Assault of Military Men
Abstract
This document describes the Department's plan to prevent and respond to the sexual assault of men in the military, in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (NDAA FY16). Our knowledge about male sexual assault, in both the military and civilian sectors, is lacking due to the scarce number of men who report the crime and the limited research on male incidence. (footnote 1) Women who are sexually assaulted are more likely to report than their male counterparts; the Department estimates about 38 percent of women report vs. only 10 percent of men. One theory as to why males choose not to report a sexual assault is they fear disbelief, blame, and scorn if they report. (footnote 2,3) Furthermore, men may not realize that their experience constitutes a sexual assault. According to the 2014 RAND Military Workplace Study (RMWS), compared to women, men are more likely to experience acts of sexual assault, which can include elements of hazing/bullying meant to humiliate or degrade the individual. Men in these circumstances may perceive their experience as non-sexual misconduct and not want to seek help or even realize they can get help from our sexual assault prevention and response program.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1023078
Entities
Organizations
- United States Department of Defense