Sexual assault in the U.S. military

Guests: Anu Bhagwati, Jessica Hinves

Last month an annual survey from the Pentagon showed that sexual assaults in the armed forces rose by 35 percent. There were an estimated 26,000 sexual assaults in 2012 with over 12,000 active duty women and 13,900 active duty men reporting unwanted sexual contact. Alarmingly, only 3,400 of the victims reported their assault and few cases went to trial. Just days after the report was released in May, an Air Force officer and Army sergeant, both of whom were responsible for overseeing sexual assault prevention programs, were accused of committing sexual crimes. Now Democrats and Republican Congresswomen have called for changes to the ways that sexual assault is reported and prosecuted.  This hour, why is sexual assault so endemic in the military and what can be done to stop it? Guest host Maiken Scott talks with ANU BHAGWATI, Executive Director of Service Women’s Action Network and a former Marine Captain and JESSICA HINVES, a U.S. Air Force veteran, she was sexually assaulted by a fellow service member and is now an Advocacy Board Member for Protect Our Defenders.