On the Case

Air Force Brig. Gen. K.C. McClain has a tough yet sensitive job. As commander of the Pentagon's new

Bungled responses to sexual misconduct claims and cases of retaliation against alleged victims of sexual misconduct have led Congress, advocacy groups and former service members to call for changes in the Pentagon's decades-old sexual assault policies. McClain and her task force will work to correct the policies, which have proved ineffective in deterring sexual misconduct and protecting the accusers.

Victims of sexual assault say the system does more to protect the assaulter than the assaulted. Despite the fact that fear of reprisal often keeps victims from reporting assaults, the Pentagon's April "Task Force Report on Care for Victims of Sexual Assault" says there were 1,007 reports of sexual assaults in 2002 and 1,113 m 2003. Reports from female service members declined in the past decade, according to the Defense Department's "Armed Forces 2002 Sexual Harassment Survey." The survey of more than 60,000 service members showed a reduction in the number of women reporting sexual harassment from 46 percent in 1995 to 24 percent in 2002. Sexual assault reports fell from 6 percent in 1995 to 3 percent in 2002.