Sexual harassment and assault at military academies increase 59 percent

A new report released by the Pentagon states that incidents of sexual harassment and assault at three military academies rose 59 percent in the last academic year.

The “Annual Report of Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies,” showed that cases of sexual assaults at the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military and the U.S. Air Force Academy rose from 41 reported cases in the previous academic year to 65 reported cases in academic year 2010-2011.

The Pentagon cannot explain the increase. But the Defense Department has been urging more victims to report sexual harassment and assault.

Reporting these incidents allow the Academies to address the problem and prevent future abuses. Sexual harassment attorneys are aware that reporting sexual harassment is the first step in prevention. Once officials are aware of a problem they can address the problem through training and education.

The military have specific policies to address sexual harassment among service members and academy students.

Sexual harassment can be a problem on civilian campuses as well. Students on civilian college campuses can retain sexual harassment attorneys if their harassment is pervasive and inhibits the student’s ability to get an education.

Though educational and training programs have helped curtail harassment in the workplace, the issue is still common and it can make the working environment unbearable. Ending the abuse is possible by hiring a sexual harassment lawyer when supervisors fail to address the problem.