Abstract:
In December 2013, the President of the United States directed the Secretary of Defense to provide a report on the Department of Defense’s progress in addressing the issue of sexual assault, to include a review of the military justice system, by December 2014. In response, this report encompasses the key programmatic initiatives and policy enhancements undertaken by the Department in Fiscal Years 2012 through 2014, with accompanying rationale, as well as synopses and evidence of progress. Also included are reports covering the same three-year timeline contributed by the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the National Guard Bureau, and the United States Coast Guard, as well as a review of the Uniform Code of Military Justice by the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Defense. The report also contains preliminary results from the new Survivor Experience Survey and the recent focus group effort on sexual assault prevention and response in the military, both fielded by the Defense Manpower Data Center; provisional results of the RAND Corporation’s Military Workplace Study; and provisional statistical data on the Department’s Fiscal Year 2014 reports of sexual assault. Metrics and non-metrics developed by the Department - as requested by the White House - are also provided for the assessment of strengths and opportunities for improvement in the Department’s sexual assault prevention and response program. The data cover elements of prevention, the investigative and legal processes, and victim confidence in - and satisfaction with - the response system. (CVRL Note: Chapter VII, “Assessment,” contains the results of the survivor experience survey and is of particular interest for victim research.) (Author Text)