Military Personnel: Actions Needed to Address Sexual Assaults of Male Servicemembers
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Department of Defense (DOD) has taken steps to address sexual assaults of servicemembers generally, but it has not used all of its data, such as analyses that show significantly fewer male servicemembers than females reporting when they are sexually assaulted, to inform program decision making. In 2014, DOD data show that 1,180 males and 4,104 females reported a sexual assault to DOD. GAO's analysis of sexual assault prevalence estimates using the results of a study conducted for DOD by the RAND Corporation shows that at most 13 percent of males reported their assaults, whereas at least 40 percent of females reported. DOD has recently begun to develop ideas for increasing male reporting, such as further outreach. DOD has reported data on the gender of military sexual assault victims since 2008, but it has not used all these data to inform program decision making or established a plan to do so. Since 2008, GAO has reported on limitations in DOD's use of data to inform decision making in its sexual assault prevention and response program, and recommended that DOD take action in response, but problems persist. Thus, without a plan for how it will use data in making decisions about program development, DOD risks leaving important issues, such as those related to male victims, unaddressed.
DOD has taken steps to provide and improve the availability of medical and mental health care for all sexual assault victims, but DOD's Health Affairs office has not systematically identified whether male victims have any gender-specific needs. DOD sexual assault policies specify that care be sensitive to gender-specific issues. Care providers and experts said that male victims may have different responses to the trauma than females, such as questioning their masculinity and their sexuality. In 2008, DOD recognized that more information was needed on the needs of males who are sexually assaulted but did not identify those needs. DOD stated in its April 2014 prevention strategy that it intends to research the situations leading to male victimization and the needs of male victims, and has begun to collect information toward this objective with its 2014 Military Workplace Study. However, until DOD's Health Affairs office systematically evaluates the medical and mental health-care needs of male victims, it will be difficult for DOD to help its providers maximize the effectiveness of the care that they provide to male sexual assault victims.
DOD has recognized that a cultural change is needed to address sexual assaults, but has not yet taken several key steps to further this change. In reports and interviews, DOD has identified that military culture can pose challenges to effectively implementing a program to prevent sexual assault. For example, in 2008, DOD acknowledged that it would need to address the “unofficial” culture that is defined by exaggerated characteristics of stereotypical masculinity, among other things, and is linked to values and customs that perpetuate rape. Key practices for implementing organizational transformations, such as cultural changes, include establishing and measuring progress toward performance goals and training employees as a means to effect the desired change. DOD has not established goals or metrics to gauge sexual assault–related issues for male servicemembers, and has also generally not portrayed male sexual assault victims in its sexual assault prevention training material. Actions to address these issues could help DOD effect the change it states is needed to effectively prevent and respond to sexual assaults of male servicemembers.
Why GAO Did This Study
Females have long been viewed as the primary victims of sexual assault but, based on survey data, RAND estimated that in 2014, about 9,000 to about 13,000 male servicemembers were sexually assaulted. The House report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act mandated that GAO review DOD's efforts to address sexual assaults of male servicemembers.
This report addresses the extent to which (1) DOD has taken actions to prevent and respond to sexual assaults of male servicemembers, (2) DOD's sexual assault prevention and response program is meeting the medical and mental health-care needs of male servicemembers, and (3) the culture of the U.S. military poses distinct challenges for preventing and responding to sexual assaults of male servicemembers. GAO reviewed DOD reports and strategies; analyzed data on sexual assaults from surveys and reported incidents from fiscal years 2008 through 2014; and interviewed DOD officials with related program responsibilities.
Recommendations
GAO recommends, among other things, that DOD develop a plan for using its data to inform program development; systematically evaluate whether male victims have gender-specific medical and mental health-care needs; develop goals and metrics; and revise training to address male victims. DOD concurred with all recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | To improve DOD's ability to prevent sexual assaults of male servicemembers, to increase its responsiveness to male servicemembers who are sexually assaulted, and to help DOD's sexual assault prevention and response program realize the full benefit of the data it collects on sexual assault incidents, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military services, to develop a plan for data-driven decision making to prioritize program efforts. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation in written comments on our report. In October 2016, DOD published its plan for preventing and responding to sexual assaults of military men. In that plan, DOD generally outlined its intent to develop metrics to assess prevention and response efforts pertaining to males who experience sexual assault. In September 2024, DOD issued an update to its plan to prevent and respond to sexual assault of military men. Among other things, this update identified the ways in which DOD would use data related to sexual assault of male servicemembers to inform its program development. For example, the update stated that DOD will use survey data from sexual assault responders to determine whether there has been a decrease, or no change, in the responders' perceptions of their preparedness to support male sexual assault victims, and if so, it will examine ways to encourage additional training for the responders and possible revisions to the training provided. By developing these plans for data-driven decision-making in its programs to respond to male victims of sexual assaults, DOD will be better-positioned to prepare, prevent, and respond appropriate to male sexual assault victims.
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| Department of Defense | To improve DOD's ability to prevent sexual assaults of male servicemembers, to increase its responsiveness to male servicemembers who are sexually assaulted, and to address challenges faced by male servicemembers as DOD continues to seek to transform its culture to address sexual assault, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military services, to develop clear goals with associated metrics to drive the changes needed to address sexual assaults of males and articulate these goals, for example in the department's next sexual assault prevention strategy. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation in written comments on our report. In October 2016, DOD issued a plan to prevent and respond to sexual assault of military men. In August 2018, DOD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) stated that objectives 1-4 of this plan constitute DOD's goals to address sexual assaults of military men. However, the plan did not contain metrics; one of the plan's objectives is to develop metrics to assess prevention and response efforts pertaining to men who experience sexual assault. In September 2024, DOD issued an update to its plan to prevent and respond to sexual assault of military men. Among other things, this update included metrics associated with the objectives of the plan to prevent and respond to sexual assault of military men. For example, for the objective of ensuring that support services meet the needs of males who experience sexual assault, DOD said it would use data on the increase in support service utilization by men, and on the satisfaction of men who make a report with the support services they received, with the intention of increasing service utilization by men as well as satisfaction with support services. By taking these steps to better measure the effects of its actions to better prevent and respond to incidents of sexual assault against males, DOD will have a better understanding of the effectiveness of its program and be better positioned to make changes to increase its effectiveness.
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| Department of Defense | To improve DOD's ability to prevent sexual assaults of male servicemembers, to increase its responsiveness to male servicemembers who are sexually assaulted, and to address challenges faced by male servicemembers as DOD continues to seek to transform its culture to address sexual assault, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military services, to include information about the sexual victimization of males in communications to servicemembers that are used to raise awareness of sexual assault and the department's efforts to prevent and respond to it. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation in written comments on our report. DOD's October 2016 plan to prevent and respond to sexual assault of military men included objectives to develop a unified communications plan tailored to men across DOD, and to improve servicemember understanding of sexual assault against men. Subsequently, in March 2020 DOD's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) released a toolkit for sexual assault awareness campaigns targeted at men, which included material on the sexual assault of males. In February 2022 SAPRO issued a memorandum to the military departments announcing an outreach campaign focusing on men, including sexual assaults of men. And in April 2022 SAPRO issued a small group discussion guide for the campaign, including material on sexual assault of men. As a result of these actions, the military services will be better prepared to raise awareness among servicemembers of sexual assaults of men, and to improve prevention and responsiveness to such assaults.
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| Department of Defense | To improve DOD's ability to prevent sexual assaults of male servicemembers, to increase its responsiveness to male servicemembers who are sexually assaulted, and to address challenges faced by male servicemembers as DOD continues to seek to transform its culture to address sexual assault, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in collaboration with the Secretaries of the military services, to revise sexual assault prevention and response training to more comprehensively and directly address the incidence of male servicemembers being sexually assaulted and how certain behavior and activities--like hazing--can constitute a sexual assault. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation in written comments on our report. DOD's October 2016 plan to prevent and respond to sexual assault of military men contained objectives to develop research-informed training for servicemembers involved with sexual assault prevention and response to improve understanding of male victimization and how to prevent the crime, commander/supervisor training; and gender-responsive treatment guidelines for providers, among other things. To fully implement this recommendation DOD will need to provide documentation that sexual assault prevention and response training has been revised to more comprehensively and directly address the incidence of male servicemembers being sexually assaulted and how certain behavior and activities-like hazing-can constitute a sexual assault. In July 2022, DOD officials stated that the military departments and National Guard Bureau had developed male-specific content for military and civilian training materials, and planned to update the training materials, with completion of this effort expected by December 30, 2022. In April 2023, DOD provided examples of the Men's SAPR Campaign marketing and education materials which included print, video, and social media content and was made available to all DoD SAPR VAs and Service and NGB HQs. In reviewing these materials, we found that they directly addressed the incidence of sexual assault among male servicemembers and how certain behavior and activities, such as hazing, also may constitute a sexual assault. As a result of these efforts, DOD has addressed our recommendation.
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| Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) | To improve DOD's ability to prevent sexual assaults of male servicemembers, to increase its responsiveness to male servicemembers who are sexually assaulted, and to help ensure that all of DOD's medical and mental health providers are generally aware of any gender-specific needs of sexual assault victims, and that victims are provided the care that most effectively meets those needs, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs should, in collaboration with the services' Surgeons General, systematically evaluate the extent to which differences exist in the medical and mental health-care needs of male and female sexual assault victims, and the care regimen, if any, that will best meet those needs. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation in written comments on our report. As of August 2018, DOD had identified steps it has taken or is taking to evaluate the extent to which differences exist in the medical and mental health-care needs of male and female sexual assault victims and the care regimen best suited to meet those needs. Specifically, DOD contracted with the RAND Corporation to assess the needs of male sexual assault victims in the armed forces. To do so, RAND reviewed the outstanding literature and previous research, and interviewed military service providers. RAND issued a report on this research in 2018. In addition, a study for the Defense Health Agency was completed in July 2018 of the patterns of health care utilization of service members who have experienced a sexual assault, and the analysis will be conducted by gender among other factors. The information from the study will inform DOD on potential gaps in current services, and guide development of gender-responsive training for health care providers, according to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. As a result, DOD will have additional information needed to inform its guidance on gender-responsive treatment for sexual assault victims.
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| Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) | To improve DOD's ability to prevent sexual assaults of male servicemembers, to increase its responsiveness to male servicemembers who are sexually assaulted, and to help ensure that all of DOD's medical and mental health providers are generally aware of any gender-specific needs of sexual assault victims, and that victims are provided the care that most effectively meets those needs, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs should, in collaboration with the services' Surgeons General, develop and issue guidance for the department's medical and mental health providers--and other personnel, as appropriate--based on the results of this evaluation that delineates these gender-specific distinctions and the care regimen that is recommended to most effectively meet those needs. |
DOD concurred with this recommendation in written comments on our report. In August 2018, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs stated that DOD is writing an Instruction and two accompanying Defense Health Agency Procedural Instructions that will delineate gender-specific distinctions and care regimens where appropriate. The guidance will incorporate the findings of a report by the Psychological Health Center of Excellence of the Defense Health Agency resulting from a planned study of the patterns of health care utilization of servicemembers reporting a sexual assault, including any gender differences. In February 2022, DOD officials stated that the Defense Health Agency and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs had established a council and a working group aimed at providing policy recommendations for adapting to the needs of sexual assault victims and informing medical professionals of policy changes and best practices. They also stated that the Defense Health Agency was in the process of revising a procedural manual on sexual assault medical management with consideration of male service members. In July 2022, DOD officials stated that they estimated completion of this recommendation by October 1, 2022. In April 2024, DOD revised the estimated completion date for this recommendation to June 2025, stating that it will incorporate gender-specific considerations into two required trainings. As of November 2024, DOD had not provided any further updates. We will continue to monitor DOD's efforts and will update the recommendation's status as more information becomes available.
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