Sexual assault in the U.S. military surged in the past two years, driven almost entirely by a 50% increase in assaults on women in uniform, according to a survey released today by the Defense Department.

The department’s annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military estimated there were 20,500 instances of “unwanted sexual contact” in the 2018 fiscal year, based on a survey of men and women across the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. That was an increase of 38% from the previous survey in 2016.

The grim data provide considerable ammunition for critics in Congress and veterans’ groups who have pressed repeatedly to change the way the military prosecutes sexual assault crimes. They want authority over such cases shifted away from military commanders and into the hands of an independent prosecutor’s office.

”These aren’t just numbers, these are people’s lives,” said Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who has pushed to remove the authority from commanders.

The issue took on added political visibility in March when Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., said publicly that she had been raped by a superior officer and had suffered numerous sexual assaults while serving in the Air Force. She has opposed shifting authority over sexual assault cases away from commanders.

The survey found that while assaults on men in the military remained flat, assaults on women recorded their biggest increase in years.

Women now make up only about 20% of the military, but are the targets of 63% of assaults, the survey found, with the youngest and lowest-ranking women most at risk.

Overall, 1 out of every 16 military women reported being groped, raped or otherwise sexually assaulted within the past year.

“To put it bluntly, we are not performing to the standards and expectations we have for ourselves or for each other,” Patrick M. Shanahan, the acting secretary of defense, said in a message to senior military leaders this week. “This is unacceptable. We cannot shrink from facing the challenge head on.”

The secretary proposed a list of actions, including better tracking and training, and a new program to identify repeat offenders even if their victims do not want to come forward.

The figures come from a survey of about 100,000 active-duty troops, which the department has conducted every two years since 2006. The latest results are not the worst — assault rates were higher in both the 2006 and 2012 surveys. But the Pentagon has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into prevention efforts, education programs and resources for victims in recent years. It now has legions of sexual assault specialists and victims’ advocates, and the Army has even developed a hologram of an assault victim to help with training.

Still, the report noted that the latest data suggests current strategies are not enough.

“We’ve thrown about $200 million at this problem for eight to 10 years, and this report suggests it’s not working,” said Speier. Along with Senate Democrats, she has repeatedly introduced legislation that would create an independent prosecutor, but, she said, the military has always lobbied against eroding commanders’ authority, and the bills have languished.

“Now people that have opposed the legislation are starting to come around,” Speier said. “People are starting to see we need to do more.”

Opponents, including many in Congress, argue that military commanders are in the best position to understand individual cases, and that bringing in an outside prosecutor could tie their hands.

A separate report in January showed that the number of sexual assaults at the nation’s service academies had risen by 50% since 2016, suggesting that the problem is just as widespread among the military’s future leaders as it is in the current ranks. It was also in line with high rates reported at civilian colleges and universities.

The military-wide survey data released this week indicates that alcohol use remains a stubborn contributing factor, and was involved in 62% of assaults on women.

Assaults increased across all branches, but the Marine Corps, which has proportionally more young, low-ranking troops and far fewer women than the other services, reported by far the highest rates. One in 10 surveyed women in the Marines reported being assaulted, twice the rate of either the Army or the Air Force.

“Sexual assault erodes the trust and cohesion within the Marine Corps team, degrades our lethality and readiness, and is incompatible with our core values of honor, courage and commitment,” the Marine Corps said in a statement. “In the end, this is an issue of trust — trust that fellow Marines will look after each other.”

The survey found that the rate of assaults on men in the military was much lower than on women. Overall, about 1 in 100 surveyed men said they had been assaulted in the past year, with the highest incidence reported in the Navy.

While the survey found that troops were experiencing more assaults, they were somewhat less likely than before to report them. The reporting rate, a barometer for the troops’ confidence that the military will punish assaulters and protect victims — fell to 30% in fiscal 2018 from 32% in 2016.

That’s still much better than the estimated 7% reporting rate in 2006, according to the new report. But Don Christensen, a retired Air Force judge and chief prosecutor, said a large majority of victims do not trust the system.

“It shows the old ways aren’t working, and it’s getting worse, not better,” said Christensen, who is now president of Protect Our Defenders, a group that advocates for military victims of sexual assault.

Victims are often reluctant to come forward, he said, because “they are afraid the case won’t be handled well, and they are afraid they will be retaliated against.”

He noted that, according to the latest figures, there were about 6,000 unrestricted reports of sexual assault in the military in the latest year. But at a briefing today, he said, Defense Department officials said that only about 300 cases had been prosecuted.

The Pentagon’s report notes that the military took “disciplinary action” of some kind in 65% of cases in 2018, a slight increase from 2017. But nearly all of that punishment was meted out by commanders at their discretion outside the court system, Christensen noted, and could be as minor as a stern admonishment.

“Commanders are basically being asked to practice law without a license,” he said. “It’s complicated, it takes up a lot of their time. It’s time to give this over to professionals.”

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