WASHINGTON: The number of reported sexual assaults across the military shot up by more than 50 per cent this year, an increase that defence officials say may suggest that victims are becoming more willing to come forward after a tumultuous year of scandals that shined a spotlight on the crimes and put pressure on the military to take aggressive action.

A string of high-profile assaults and arrests triggered outrage in Congress and set off months of debate over how to change the military justice system, while military leaders launched a series of new programmes intended to beef up accountability and encourage victims to come forward.

According to early data obtained by the Associated Press, there were more than 5,000 reports of sexual assault filed during the fiscal year that ended on Sept 30, compared to the 3,374 in 2012. Of those 2013 reports, about 10pc involved incidents that occurred before the victim got into the military, up from just 4pc only a year ago. That increase, officials said, suggests that confidence in the system is growing and that victims are more willing to come forward.

Asked about the preliminary data, defence officials were cautious in their conclusions. But they said surveys, focus groups and repeated meetings with service members throughout the year suggest that the number of actual incidents — from unwanted sexual contact and harassment to violent assaults — has remained largely steady.

“Given the multiple data points, we assess that this is more reporting,” said Col Alan R. Metzler, deputy director of the Pentagon’s sexual assault prevention and response office.

The military has long struggled to get victims to report sexual harassment and assault in a stern military culture that emphasizes rank, loyalty and toughness. Too often, victims have complained that they were afraid to report assaults to ranking officers, or that their initial complaints were rebuffed or ignored.

As a result, the crime has been vastly underreported — a fact that became evident when officials announced earlier this year that an anonymous survey had revealed that about 26,000 service members reported some type of unwanted sexual contact or sexual assault.

According to the latest numbers, the increase in reports across the services ranges from a low of about 45pc for the Air Force to a high of 86pc for the Marines, the smallest service. The Navy had an increase of 46pc and the Army, by far the largest military service, had a 50pc jump.

Meanwhile, a myriad of sexual assault arrests and scandals, including an Air Force commander’s decision to dismiss sex assault charges against another officer who had been convicted of multiple offences, got the attention of Congress. And it all led to a series of often emotional public hearings in which victims described their experiences.

As Congress debated changes in the military’s justice system, the Pentagon and the services instituted new training programmes that targeted rank-and-file service members as well as top commanders and officers.

Defence officials beat back efforts to more drastically revamp the military justice system that would take authority away from commanders and allow victims of rape and sexual assault to go outside the chain of command for prosecutions.

Still, military leaders acknowledge a lot of work remains to be done.—AP