Abstract
Sexual violence within the U.S. military—encompassing instances of sexual harassment or sexual assault in which the victim and/or the perpetrator is a service member—has received increasing attention from military leadership, the U.S. government, and the American public. This chapter overviews what is currently known about sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. military and highlights questions that remain to be answered. After providing military definitions of sexual assault and sexual harassment, we review evidence about rates of sexual violence in the military and discuss how estimated prevalence rates vary depending on how sexual victimization is measured; gender and military/civilian differences in rates of sexual victimization are also considered. The next section summarizes research on risk factors for sexual violence, including environmental as well as individual risk factors associated with increased risk of sexual perpetration or victimization. We then review evidence regarding the effects of sexual violence on victims, which include substantial adverse effects on mental and physical health as well as reduced readiness. After a brief overview of current Department of Defense prevention and response efforts, the chapter concludes with suggestions for future research and practice to address the problems of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military.
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Disclaimer: I am a military service member (or employee of the US Government). This work was prepared as part of my official duties. Title 17, U.S.C. §105 provides the “Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government.” Title 17, U.S.C. §101 defines a US Government work as work prepared by a military service member or employee of the US Government as part of that person’s official duties.
Report No. 17-83 supported by Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs under work unit no. N1302. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, Department of the Air Force, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, or the US Government. Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.
Human subjects participated in this study after giving their free and informed consent. This research has been conducted in compliance with all applicable federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research (NHRC.2013.0005).
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Thomsen, C.J., Stander, V.A., Foster, R.E., Gallus, J.A. (2017). Understanding and Addressing Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault in the US Military. In: Bowles, S., Bartone, P. (eds) Handbook of Military Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66192-6_21
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