Sexual Assault Reports are Increasing in the U.S. Military

Yesterday, I read an article on Foxnews.com that states that sexual assault reports in the U.S. military increased by 24 percent in 2006. The Pentagon claims that there were approximately 3,000 reports filed in 2006 compared to 2,400 reports the previous year. According to the military, they specify sexual assault as rape, nonconsensual sodomy, indecent assault, and attempts to commit any of those as sexual assault. While I was reading this article, I was particularly interested in the military's new program that would allow victims of sexual assault to seek confidential counseling/health care while they consider pursing legal action. This type of program may allow more victims of sexual assault to come forward without the threat of retaliation from their attacker or military counterparts. Programs like this confidential reporting system may be one reason why the military believes that the reporting of assaults has steadily increased. Do you think that the military has done a good job at trying to train their soldiers about sexual harassment? If not, then do you have any suggestions of how the military can improve their sexual harassment education/programs? Let me know what you think.