SEOUL — A group studying the effectiveness of the military’s sexual assault prevention programs and how those crimes are reported is in South Korea this week.
The Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services is nearing the end of its yearlong tour of Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force installations around the world.
Members are studying whether different commands’ mandatory sexual assault prevention programs work, or whether they’re "a punch-the-ticket, do-it-online type of training," said Louis Iasiello, task force co-chair and a retired rear admiral.
The group also is looking at whether those programs should be standardized for the entire military and administered by the Department of Defense. Each service now has its own prevention program that is tailored to meet its culture, he said.
The task force is meeting this week with officials and sexual assault victims at Yongsan Garrison, Camp Humphreys, Camp Casey and Camp Red Cloud.
Members will travel to Okinawa on Saturday, and make their last stop in the Pacific on Guam. The task force will make its final site visit in June, and is expected to present its final report and recommendations for reducing sexual assaults to the secretary of defense and Congress this fall.
Congress ordered the military to formally address sexual assault within its ranks about five years ago, but little progress was made, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued last year.
In a congressional hearing in August 2008, lawmakers were highly critical of the DOD’s lack of progress in addressing sexual crimes.
Iasiello said staff are still gathering facts, but the military has clearly become more responsive to victims who report sexual assaults.
"The response part of this seems to be working pretty well. The reality is, we’re much better at offering victim care than we were a few years ago," Iasiello said.
He pointed to the "restricted" reporting option that allows sexual assault victims to get counseling and treatment without launching a criminal investigation or having their commander notified. That is "countercultural" to the military, where commanders want to know what happens within their ranks, he said.
The restricted reporting option is available for servicemembers, but not for civilians.
The task force made stops at bases in the Middle East, including Iraq, to study sexual assaults in combat zones. The size of bases there varies widely, and it may be harder for troops at smaller bases with fewer facilities to report sexual crimes than for those stationed at larger bases, Iasiello said.
"The question is, do people in these more remote areas, do they have the same reporting mechanisms available to them?" he said.
The task force also is interviewing sexual assault victims to learn how their cases were handled. At their last stop in the Tidewater area of Virginia, Iasiello said, members interviewed two or three victims.
Staffers will soon fly to Arizona to meet with victims from that region who have contacted the task force.
They’re also are studying sexual assault prevention programs at private industries and colleges, because students typically are in the same age bracket as many servicemembers, Iasiello said.
Speaking outIf you are the victim of a sexual assault and want to speak with a member of the task force, contact your command, the 8th Army Public Affairs office, or Louis Iasiello at the Dragon Hill Lodge. You can also call 1-888-325-6640 or go to www.dtic.mil/dtfsams for more information.
