KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Reported sexual assaults at U.S. Air Force bases in Europe declined last year, but officials cautioned that it is difficult to capture an accurate picture of the problem because many incidents go unreported.
Air Force bases across the region reported 83 sexual assaults in 2007, down from 94 last year, said Tom Appel-Schumacher, U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s sexual assault response coordinator. The decline does not necessarily mean the number of attacks has gone down because it is difficult to estimate how many people have not come forward seeking help.
Many victims do not come forward because of various reasons, including fear of reprisals, shame, concerns over how others in the command will view them and worries that it could affect the mission.
“Approximately 80 percent of sexual assaults that occur go unreported,” said Appel-Schumacher, citing research conducted at universities. “This is not only in the military environment, but it’s on college campuses and within the general population.”
The number of reported sexual assaults across military dropped in 2007, from 2,688 to 2,947 in 2006, according to a report released by the Pentagon last Friday. Rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assaults and attempts to commit those acts are considered sexual assault by the military.
The Army and Navy could not provide statistics for the same period for bases in Europe in time for this story. There were 13 reported sexual assaults at Navy bases last year, said Vicki Shepherd, Navy Region Europe’s sexual assault response coordinator. There were 199 reported sexual assaults at Army bases in 2007. Figures for 2006 were not available by deadline.
The Defense Department has come under scrutiny over how it has handled and tracked sexual assaults. A Government Accountability Office report last month found the military academies did not do a good enough job evaluating the effectiveness of their sexual assault prevention programs.
The military has mandated reporting procedures and required bases and commands to have sexual assault response coordinators — also known as SARCs — to help victims. The military programs allow victims to forgo having to go through with a criminal investigation in hopes of encouraging people to come forward and get help.
Shepherd said she believes the programs are providing a valuable service by helping victims get help and by offering education to sailors. She acknowledged it is difficult to gauge the effectiveness of the programs because it is inevitable that people will not come forward and report a sexual assault.
“If we don’t know what goes on, it ties our hands on how we can keep you safe,” said Shepherd, who has been the coordinator for the Navy for the past 10 years.
The Air Force in Europe has boosted its education program and has tried to find ways to increase awareness of the program, Appel-Schumacher said. Last month, a group of actors toured Air Forces bases in Europe in an effort to educate airmen on how to prevent sexual assault.
Such programs are a way in which the bases can reach out to airmen and make it “more personal to somebody rather than just a briefing where they get a bunch of PowerPoint slides,” he said.
Military sexual assault statistics
Last Friday, the Pentagon released the number of reported sexual assaults across the Armed Services. Stars and Stripes requested the number of reported sexual assaults for the Navy, Air Force and Army in Europe. Below are the numbers provided.
Military2006: 2,947 reports2007: 2,790 reports
USAFE2006: 942007: 83
Navy2006: Not available2007: 13
Army2006: Not available2007: 199
Sources: Department of Defense, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, U.S. Army in Europe, Navy Region Europe
