November 19, 2012: By the Numbers

November 19, 2012: By the Numbers

3,192
and
19,000

The number of sexual assaults reported in the military last year, versus the number that actually take place each year, according to Pentagon estimates. These numbers appeared in a Bloomberg article about a new "wingman" rule adopted by the Air Force in the wake of a sex abuse scandal at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The expanded wingman policy, which requires trainees to be accompanied whenever they are outside their dormitory, was criticized for placing a burden on the victims by Protector Our Defenders, an advocacy group for sexual assault victims in the military. 
 

“Can you imagine if leaders in our civilian society suggested that in order to prevent rape or assault we must never be alone?” said Nancy Parrish, president of the Burlingame, California-based group.
 

The wingman policy had previously been in place only at night. The expansion of the policy was announced in a report to the Secretary of the Air Force released last week by the Air Education and Training Command. Among other recommendations, the report encouraged reducing the student to instructor ratio and increasing the number of female military training instructors.