Nearly half of female cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy say they have been sexually harassed, and one in eight women reported receiving unwanted sexual contact, according to a Pentagon survey. The numbers indicate an increase from the last survey in 2016, in which only 36 percent of women cadets reported harassment, the AP reports. Reports of males being sexually harassed also increased, going from 11 percent to 17 percent from 2016 to 2018. Additionally, 3.6 percent of men said they’ve experienced unwanted sexual touching. The 2018 numbers are the highest in the survey’s history, which began a decade ago and is conducted every two years. In June, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), who is attempting to pilot a program for independent review of sexual-assault cases at military academies, said the academies in the U.S. are “facing a sexual-assault crisis, and we are asleep at the wheel.” A previously-released report from this year detailing reports of assaults at the Army, Navy, and Air Force academies yielded similar results, with an estimated 50 percent of women and 16 percent of men saying they’ve experienced sexual harassment.
