Yesterday the LA Times ran a harrowing Op-Ed by Rep. Jane Harman on the rape epidemic in the military. Says Harman:

In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported — 73% more than in 2004. The DOD’s newest report, released this month, indicates that 2,688 reports were made in 2007, but a recent shift from calendar-year reporting to fiscal-year reporting makes comparisons with data from previous years much more difficult.

If that isn’t bad enough, consider the fact that the DOD’s numbers only reflect reported incidents, meaning there’s almost certainly more unspoken incidents sitting silent as these women, according to Harman, are being denied justice:

At the heart of this crisis is an apparent inability or unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks. According to DOD statistics, only 181 out of 2,212 subjects investigated for sexual assault in 2007, including 1,259 reports of rape, were referred to courts-martial, the equivalent of a criminal prosecution in the military. Another 218 were handled via nonpunitive administrative action or discharge, and 201 subjects were disciplined through “nonjudicial punishment,” which means they may have been confined to quarters, assigned extra duty or received a similar slap on the wrist.

Tags: army, iraq, jane harman, LA Times, rape, sexual assault, War