Defense sexual assault programs need more resources, panel says
Department must standardize programs across the services and stabilize funding, according to task force.
The Defense Department's programs for preventing and responding to sexual assault incidents are hampered by poor strategic direction, inadequate funding, inconsistent implementation and a lack of accountability, a high-level task force has found.
Congress created the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services in 2005 to examine matters related to sexual assault where service members are victims or perpetrators. In a report released Dec. 4, the panel advised department leaders to make a number of organizational and funding changes.
"Commanders and their staffs frequently noted that sexual assault prevention and response was yet another unfunded program mandated to be resourced locally," the report stated.
Specifically, the task force recommended the department:
- Elevate the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to the deputy Defense secretary's office for at least one year and until the Defense secretary can assure Congress the program is meeting its goals;
- Create a reliable and adequate funding stream for prevention and response programs in the budget;
- Restructure SAPRO to provide policy direction and program oversight;
- Standardize terminology and core programs across the services;
- Require all sexual assault response coordinators to be full-time military or Defense civilian personnel;
- Develop a comprehensive prevention strategy and a plan to routinely evaluate the efficacy of that strategy.
"In the civilian community, victim advocates are trained to provide privileged communications during crisis intervention and longer-term support," the report noted. "Military victims of sexual assault need and deserve comparable services; however, DoD requires only minimal education and no formal certification for its victim advocates."
The department has made significant but uneven progress in how it responds to victims of sexual harassment, the task force found: "We have noted success when commanders take an active role. However, greater focus and effort are required to fully address the spectrum of sexual assault prevention and response."
The panel visited 60 installations in 16 states and nine countries, including Afghanistan and Iraq.