Pentagon releases annual report on sexual assault in US military

WASHINGTON -- The US Department of Defense released on Thursday the fiscal year 2021 annual report on sexual assault in the military.

"Sexual assault and sexual harassment remain persistent and corrosive problems," the top line results read.

Over 8 percent of active-duty women and about 1.5 percent of active-duty men indicated experiencing some form of unwanted sexual contact in the year before the survey was conducted, the findings showed.

The Pentagon received a total of 8,866 reports of sexual assault, up by 1,050 reports from the 7,816 reports received in the fiscal year 2020, said the report.

In the US Army, reports of sexual assault increased 25.6 percent from the fiscal year 2020. The Navy saw a 9.2 percent increase, while the Marine Corps and the Air Force saw a 1.7 percent and 2.4 percent increase, respectively.

The Pentagon said it is "investing significant resources to fuel needed change."