Attack on Assaults

Army National Guard Sgt. Taryn Hazelwood is a combat lifesaver, the service's designation for personnel who receive additional medical training in order to treat wounded comrades. In March, Hazelwood was deployed to Iraq for a one-year tour of duty and packed something extra in her medical bag-emergency contraception, in case a female soldier in her unit is sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier.

"So far, nobody has come to me. So hopefully that means it hasn't been needed," Hazelwood wrote in a mid-May e-mail from Iraq, where she is stationed with the Army National Guard's 81st Armored Brigade. "But then, it's been only two months. The pressure hasn't really had time to build up. Ask me again in six months."

From the front lines in Iraq to the Pentagon and Congress, concerns about sexual assaults are on the rise. In February, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered a 90-day review of military sexual assault policy after more than 100 allegations of sexual assault and misconduct were reported in Central Command-which includes Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait-during the previous 18 months. Rumsfeld sent a study of the allegations to the military's 10 top commanders, along with a memo saying that "Sexual assault will be defeated only by commanders exercising strong leadership."

The review, released to the public in May, was conducted by a panel of four military and four civilian members. They concluded that:

• The military services lacked standardized training about sexual assault.
• Victims often have limited or no access to support services.
• Commanders were insensitive to victims' needs.

"We found that commanders, although concerned, were not educated or trained or sensitive to the needs of sexual assault victims. They need better tools, guidelines and training to be effective in their role as the person responsible for taking care of their troops," said the panel's leader, Ellen Embrey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for health protection and readiness, at a May press conference. The report found that in 2002 and 2003, there were about 70 alleged sexual assaults for every 100,000 uniformed service members.

A recent Army review of sexual abuse in the service's ranks, which was first reported by The Washington Post in early June, found reports of sexual assaults increased by 19 percent between 1999 and 2002, from 658 to 783 allegations. During the same time period, accusations of rape rose from 365 to 445, according to the Army. In 2003, allegations of sexual assault and rape increased by 5 percent within the Army, although during that period the number of soldiers on active duty rose 20 percent.

Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., says the Pentagon has failed to follow up on numerous reports documenting a sexual assault problem. Earlier this year, she won unanimous backing from her House colleagues for an amendment to the fiscal 2005 Defense authorization bill, ordering the Defense Department to put in place by Jan. 1, 2005 comprehensive policies to prevent and respond to sexual assault.

"I see this as a management challenge," says Slaughter. "The Pentagon has to be in charge of it."

Deborah Tucker, executive director of the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence in Austin, Texas, agrees that the Pentagon must follow through on its own recommendations and says pressure from lawmakers could make a difference. Tucker notes that Iraq presents opportunities for increased sexual assault because male and female soldiers are living and working in tight quarters that afford little privacy.

Hazelwood says female soldiers are well aware that Iraq is a "boy's world" and that they always should be on alert. But, she adds, "There are so many 'what-if situations' to worry about here, and living in fear would only make things worse. So in the infamous words of Dora from [the movie] Finding Nemo, 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.' "