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 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said continued
efforts to combat sexual assaults were a central part of his goal of
strengthening the entire Navy workforce - one of four pillars of new
strategic guidance released last week.
He said measures already implemented in recent years had led to
increased reporting and a decrease in sexual assaults, but more work
was needed.
"Until we eliminate this and go to zero, we can never be satisfied,"
Richardson said, calling sexual assaults the most egregious of
destructive behaviors seen in the military.
The Navy and other U.S. military services have stepped up their
efforts in recent years to crack down on sexual assault in the
military, as well as on retaliation against those who report such
attacks.
 In 2014, the Navy reported that 5.1 percent of women in the service
experienced unwanted sexual contact, a decrease from 7.2 percent in
2012, while 1.1 percent of men experienced unwanted sexual contact,
compared with 2.7 percent of men in 2012.
Richardson mapped out several initiatives, including training
focused more on encouraging shipmates to "step in" if they witnessed
sexually inappropriate behavior.
"If I look back at some of the progress that we’ve made, it’s really
when our team starts to think, 'We own this. We are not going to let
our shipmates be injured in this way,'" he said. Sailors would be
told, "If you see something wrong, do something right."
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The Navy would revamp its personnel management system to ensure
survivors did not wind up work closely with attackers later in their
careers, and to expedite discharges for any victims who opted to
leave the Navy.
In addition, he said the Navy would expand use of civilian
counselors at shore facilities to encourage more men and women who
had been sexually assaulted to report attacks.
There would also renewed efforts to crack down on alcohol abuse,
given the high correlation with sexual assaults, and implementation
of cell phone and computer applications used by some colleges to
make it easier to report any incidents.
Richardson said training measures were already under way and the
rest of the measures would be implemented within the next six
months.
Further steps were still being considered and would be unveiled at a
later date, he said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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