Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
The Department of Defense (DOD) has released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. The report indicates a decline in the estimated prevalence of sexual assault and harassment within the active force, marking the first decrease in nearly a decade.
In addition to presenting a greater proportion of service members reporting their incidents to a DoD authority, the report also includes data from the 2023 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Military Members, sexual assault reporting data, and summaries of efforts to implement Secretary of Defense and Congressionally-directed sexual assault prevention and response reforms.
"Since Secretary Austin's first day on the job, he has made countering sexual assault and harassment a top priority," stated Elizabeth Foster, Executive Director of the Office of Force Resiliency. "The progress highlighted by this year's report show the impact of the Department's unprecedented efforts and investments."
Dr. Nate Galbreath, Acting Director of DoD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office added that "in 2023, about seven thousand fewer Service members experienced the crime of sexual assault than in 2021." He emphasized that such progress is achievable when leaders align policy, resourcing, and collective action in favor of their people and nation.
The Department continues to focus on expanding integrated prevention initiatives, improving climate and culture, reforming the military justice process, and enhancing victim assistance.
Alongside this report, DoD also released the Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies (MSAs), Academic Program Year 2022-2023. This additional report found that MSAs are compliant with relevant law and policy.
All reports are available for public viewing on https://www.sapr.mil/.
