(RNN) - Three of the nation's military service academies saw a 45 percent increase in the number of sexual assaults reported in the last school year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Defense.
"One sexual assault is too many," said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in a news release. "There's no place for this unacceptable behavior."
In the 2010-2011 academic school year, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy received 65 reports of sexual assault. In the 2009-2010 school year, the academies received 41 reports.
The Department of Defense (DOD) report did not explain the large increase between the years, although it did speculate that numbers may have been impacted by previous reports, which have recommended steps to encourage more victims to come forward.
Only 25 sexual assaults were reported in the 2008-2009 school year. In 2008, then-Under Secretary of Defense David S. C. Chu estimated that 90 percent of all sexual assaults were going unreported on campuses.
The DOD announced two new policies aimed at helping sexual assault victims. The first allows victims to request an expedited transfer from their unit or installation, with a response required within 72 hours and the right to appeal the decision. The second requires all military academies to keep records on sexual assault for a minimum of five to 50 years, depending on if the report was restricted or not.
"We owe it to those who have been victimized, and to every cadet and midshipman, to do everything possible to provide needed support and to hold those who commit sexual assault appropriately accountable," said Maj. Gen. Mary Kay Hertog, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.
The DOD began writing annual reports on sexual harassment at the military academies in the 2005-2006 school year after the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act was passed. The Act made the report mandatory for the academies.
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The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has added the school superintendent as the chair of the Sexual Assault Review Board to make sure that cases are known to the highest up at the institution. (Source: U.S. Military Academy at West Point)
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