Two Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ military bases have landed on a list of installations with the highest risk of sexual assault or estimated rates of sexual assaults, according to a new study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense.
In 2014, the DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office requested that the RAND National Defense Research Institute conduct an independent review of the rates of sexual assault, sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the military. The last time such an assessment was conducted was in 2012, based on results of a workplace survey for active-duty military members.
The RAND study, which surveyed roughly 560,000 service members in August and September 2014, found that risk of sexual assault and harassment varied across military branches, installations and commands.
Sierra Vista’s Fort Huachua ranked No. 1 on the list of Army bases with the highest risk of sexual assault for women.
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While the average sexual assault risk for Army women in 2014 was 5 percent, Fort Huachuca’s risk was at roughly 8 percent. The study cited a 2.5 percent margin of error on both the low and high ends, meaning the risk could be as high as 10.5 percent.
Average sexual assault risks for women in the Marines and Navy were higher than the Army, and sexual assault risk for women in the Air Force was lower, coming in at less than 3 percent.
“Fort Huachuca and the Army remain fully committed to preventing and reducing sexual assault and sexual harassment within its ranks,†public affairs officer Angie Camara wrote in an email to the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. “RAND’s risk estimates, which are based on survey data from over four years ago, may be helpful in focusing our ongoing efforts to combat these harmful behaviors.†Fort Huachuca has a sexual harassment/assault response and prevention team that Camara said is “fully engaged†with regular training, briefings to members of the command team and monthly sexual assault review boards that address risks and vulnerabilities. “The Fort also hosts regular awareness and prevention efforts and community outreach about services available to the military members and their eligible family members,†Camara wrote. “It is our priority to establish healthy climates based on dignity and respect.â€
When it comes to actual sexual assaults, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Davis-Monthan Air Force Base ranked in the top 10 for estimated sexual assaults on Air Force bases in 2014, with an estimated 48 assaults. The number was derived using the total sexual assault risk for the base, which was then converted to an estimated number, which the study says is specifically a “prevalence rate.â€
The study found that for the most part, the largest bases had the highest number of estimated assaults. Davis-Monthan — one of the Air Force’s largest bases — came in at No. 9 on the list of estimated sexual assaults.
Air Force bases with a higher prevalence included Germany’s Ramstein, Japan’s Okinawa and U.S. bases Langley and Travis.
"Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and the Air Force as a whole, has made significant progress in advancing sexual assault prevention and response capabilities over the recent years," Lt. Laurent Gao, a public affairs officer, wrote in an email to the Star. "Our sexual assault prevention strategy is in line with the Air Force's and Department of Defense's strategy to increase the number of reports while decreasing the number of assaults."
Part of Davis-Monthan's strategy has been partnering with RAND and using its "Getting to Outcomes" process to tailor prevention efforts to meet the unique needs of each base. The evidence-based process is a 10-step program that's a collaborate efffort between multiple base agencies to reduce violent behaviors, according to Gao.
"Preventing and responding to sexual assault across the military is a top priority for the Department of Defense, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base will continue ensuring this remains a top priority," Gao said.
Estimated sexual assaults were far lower in the Air Force than in the other three branches. In 2014, an estimated 885 sexual assaults were committed on the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas.
The study found a large proportion of all sexual assaults occur at a few large bases for each branch of the military and that each service member’s estimated sexual assault risk depended “to a substantial extent†on factors associated with that person’s duty assignment. “The concentration of large numbers of sexual assault victims at a relatively small number of installations suggests that specialized training, prevention and response interventions may be efficiently deployed to those locations,†the study says, adding that the armed services should investigate the conditions that lead to patterns of sexual assault risk.
