Steve Chapman on the Military's Failure to Address Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is a problem the military has in abundance. The Defense Department says about one of every three women in the services has been the victim of this crime—about twice the rate in the civilian population. Men are also violated. An estimated 26,000 sexual assaults took place last year, the Pentagon says, but only 3,374 were reported. There were 302 court-martial trials and 238 convictions—less than 1 percent of all the attacks. It's time, writes Steve Chapman, for military brass to take the problem seriously.