In March 1994, the Deputy Secretary of Defense asked the Secretary of the Air Force and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to develop a sexual harassment policy action plan. This plan was provided in April 1994, and included among its elements (1) the establishment of a Defense Equal Opportunity Council (DEOC) Task Force on Discrimination and Sexual Harassment to review the Military Services' discrimination complaints system and recommend improvements, including the adoption of Department-wide standards, and (2) the conduct of a Department-wide sexual harassment survey because one had not been fielded since 1988.

Three surveys were used in the study. The first survey (Form A) replicated a 1988 DoD-wide survey that produced the first baseline data on sexual harassment in the active-duty Services. The sole purpose of administering the Form A survey was to permit comparisons of sexual harassment incident rates in the 1988 and 1995 time frames.

The second survey (Form B) differed from the first in 3 major ways. It provided: (1) an expanded list of potential harassment behaviors that survey respondents could report; (2) an opportunity to report on experiences that occurred outside normal duty hours, not at work, and off the base or installation; and (3) measures of service members' perceptions of the complaint process, reprisal, and training. The main purposes of the second survey were to assess:

• what elements of the active duty military population had unwanted, gender-related experiences;
• the context, location, and circumstances under which such experiences occurred;
• the extent to which these experiences were reported and, if reported, members' satisfaction with the complaint process and response;
• the extent to which reprisal occurred to those attempting to report harassment;
• the amount of training received by members on topics related to sexual harassment and members' assessment of the effectiveness of training received;
• service members' views of current policies designed to prevent, reduce, or eliminate sexual harassment, of leadership commitment, and of progress in reducing the incidence of sexual harassment.

The third survey (Form C) was administered to a small sample of active-duty members for research purposes. No results were calculated from this survey. The three surveys were sent to over 90,000 active-duty military members from 15 February to 18 September 1995. About 30,000 personnel received Form A and about 13,600 completed the survey, for a response rate of 46 percent. Because detailed analyses of Form B were planned, about 50,000 personnel received it and about 28,300 completed it, for a response rate of 58 percent. Form C was mailed to about 9,500 and about 5,300 completed it, for a response rate of 56 percent. No military member received more than one survey.

Form A, the replication of the 1988 survey, was fielded for the sole purpose of comparing reports of unwanted sexual attention in 1995 and 1988. Senior DoD officials believed these indicator data would be extremely important in answering the overall question, "Have we improved?"

Based on responses to Form A, service members’ reports of sexual harassment declined significantly since 1988. In 1988, 22 percent of active-duty military personnel (64% of women and 17% of men) reported one or more incidents of sexual harassment while at work during the year prior to the survey. In 1995, 19 percent of personnel (55% of women and 14% of men) reported one or more incidents while at work in the year prior to the survey.

Overall, rates declined significantly across all Services except the Coast Guard, where there

was no significant change. Navy women exhibited the most precipitous decline in reporting, dropping 13 percentage-points, from 66 percent in 1988 to 53 percent in 1995.

In 1988, women in the Marine Corps reported at the highest rates (75% of active-duty Marine women reported experiencing one or more incidents); Army and Navy women reported at about the same levels (68% and 66%, respectively), Coast Guard was 62 percent, and Air Force was lowest at 57 percent. In 1995, women's incidence rates continued to be highest for Marine Corps (64%, down 11 percentage-points from 1988), but the Army rate, at 61 percent (down seven points), is now not statistically different than the Marines. The Navy's incidence rate, at 53 percent (down 13 points), is much lower and not statistically different than that of the Air Force (at 49%, down eight percentage-points from 1988). In 1988, 62 percent of Coast Guard women reported experiencing one or more incidents, compared to 59 percent in 1995, not a significant change.

Form A replicated the 1988 survey and permitted comparisons to that baseline, but the survey had limitations for use in the 1995 sexual harassment study. Form B contained new items of interest to Defense policy officials (e.g., how much training was being provided, how effective was the training, respondents' opinions of the complaint process), and it also contained a considerably expanded list of behaviors for reporting unwanted sexual attention (e.g., sexist behavior items). To cover the spectrum of behaviors that might be construed as sexual harassment, an extensive, behaviorally based incident reporting list, consisting of 25 items (versus 10 used in 1988), was developed and used in Form B. After the data were collected, the 25 items were factor analyzed and reported in five broad categories: (1) Crude/Offensive Behavior (e.g., unwanted sexual jokes, stories, whistling, staring); (2) Sexist Behavior (e.g., insulting, offensive and condescending attitudes based on the gender of the person); (3) Unwanted Sexual Attention (e.g., unwanted touching, fondling; asking for dates even though rebuffed); (4) Sexual Coercion (e.g., classic quid pro quo instances of job benefits or losses conditioned on sexual cooperation); and (5) Sexual Assault (e.g., unsuccessful attempts at and having sex without the respondent’s consent and against his or her will).

Form B more than doubled the possible categories of reporting and broadened the circumstances under which harassment could be reported to include off-duty hours, off-base, etc. Thus, we expected that the rates would be higher on this form than on the Form 1988 survey. Based on responses to the 25 items from Form B, 43 percent of active-duty military (73% of women and 38% of men) indicated they had experienced one or more of the behaviors listed in the survey during the previous 12 months.

Form B also contained many new items designed to help the Department of Defense broaden its understanding of sexual harassment of active-duty military. For example, where it was occurring, to whom it was occurring, if reprisal was involved, as well as other areas of interest. Other results, based on the Form B survey, are summarized below under "Other Findings."

Many did not. Because numerous new items were included on the Form B survey, a question was added that asked respondents if they considered any of the behaviors they checked in the 25-item list "sexual harassment." Although 78 percent of women and 38 percent of men checked one or more items, only 52 percent of women and nine percent of men indicated they considered those experiences to be sexual harassment.

Yes, nearly three-quarters of military members with six to ten years of service indicated harassment was occurring less often than a few years ago. Fewer women than men expressed this opinion (60% vs. 76%). Women in the Navy and Coast Guard (71% and 70%) were more likely than women in the other Services to report sexual harassment had declined. When those who had served in the military 2 to 5 years were asked, "How often does sexual harassment occur in the military now, compared with a few years ago?," 46 percent of women and 58 percent of men reported sexual harassment was occurring less often. Thirty-four percent of women and 27 percent of men reported it was occurring at about the same rate, and 12 percent of women and seven percent of men indicated it was occurring more often.

In 1988, 64 percent of active-duty women and 17 percent of men reported experiencing one or more instances of sexual harassment based on a 10-item list provided in the survey. In 1995, the same survey (re-labeled Form A) was administered to active-duty service members and 55 percent of women and 14 percent of men reported experiencing one or more instances of sexual harassment. In 1995, a new survey (Form B) was also fielded. It was labeled a "Gender Issues" survey and contained an expanded list of 25 items potentially related to sexual harassment, e.g., quid pro quo items and sexist behavior items. On this survey, 78 percent of women and 38 percent of men reported experiencing one or more incidents on the 25-item list. When the harassment rate is calculated as those who had one or more experiences and considered at least some to be harassment, the figures are 52 percent for women and nine percent for men.

Based on the data collected in this study, there is evidence that sexual harassment is significantly declining in the active-duty Military Services. Between 1988 and 1995, the percentage of women reporting incidents of sexual harassment declined nine percentage points, and the percentage of men reporting incidents declined three percentage points. In addition, data obtained from the second survey (Form B) have helped us to obtain a fuller understanding of the experiences and perceptions of active-duty military members. The following section provides additional findings.

Clearly, as noted earlier, women reported at considerably higher rates than men. In addition, for active-duty military, junior enlisted personnel (El -E4) reported at somewhat higher rates than senior enlisted (E5-E9) or officers. Among junior enlisted, 49 percent reported experiencing one or more instances of sexual harassment compared to 40 percent of senior enlisted and 39 percent of officers. For women, 83 percent of junior enlisted reported experiencing uninvited and unwanted gender-related behaviors, compared to 74 percent for senior enlisted and 75 percent for officers.

The analysis of Form B indicated that black men reported incidents at slightly higher rates than white men (43% vs. 36%). The overall rates for black and white women were not significantly different 76% vs. 78%).

The most frequently cited sources of harassment, for both women and men, were military co-workers (44% of women and 52% of men), other military personnel of higher rank/grade (43% of women and 21% of men), and other military persons (24% of women and 22% of men). Active-duty women and men were far less likely to mention civilians. For example, only six percent of women and seven percent of men reported civilian co-workers had bothered them.

Sexual harassment primarily occurred on military installations, at work, and during duty hours. For example, 88 percent of women and 76 percent of men who reported they had experienced sexual harassment indicated that all or most of it occurred on a military installation.

In terms of when the reported experiences occurred, 74 percent of women and 68 percent of men reported that all or most of the experiences occurred while at work. In addition, 77 percent of women and 68 percent of men reported that all or most of the experiences occurred during duty hours. Only five percent of women reported none occurred on an installation, 14 percent said none occurred at work, and nine percent said none occurred during duty hours.

Active-duty military personnel are increasingly reporting their experiences. Approximately 24 percent of those who indicated experiencing an incident chose to report the incident (40% of women and 17% of men). In the 1988 survey, eight percent of women and 10 percent of men who experienced sexual harassment chose to report the incidents. Victims of sexual harassment most often report these incidents to their immediate supervisor (26% of women and 11% of men), someone else in the chain of command (21% of women and 8% of men), and the supervisor of the person bothering them (18% of women and 8% of men).

Fifty percent of women and 22 percent of men reported that the person who bothered them was talked to about the behavior and 20 percent of women and 10 percent of men reported that the person who bothered them was counseled. Fourteen percent of women and four percent of men indicated their complaint was/is being investigated. However, 39 percent of men and 15 percent of women indicated no action was taken and 23 percent of women and 16 percent of men said their complaint was discounted or not taken seriously. Finally, about 10 percent of those reporting their experiences said they did not know what action was taken.

Where the incident went unreported, women most commonly gave as a reason for not reporting that they took care of the problem themselves (54%). Men, more frequently than women, said that they did not think the matter was important (51% of men and 35% of women). Twenty percent of women and 10 percent of men said they did not think anything would be done. In terms of negative consequences, 25 percent of women and 13 percent of men indicated they did not report because they thought it would make their work situations unpleasant. Seventeen percent of women and eight percent of men thought they would be labeled troublemakers. Thirteen percent of women and 10 percent of men did not want to hurt the person who bothered them.

Some did. Service members who reported they had experienced sexual harassment also were asked if they had experienced "a performance rating that was unfairly lowered." Overall, 20 percent of women and nine percent of men who had experienced sexual harassment reported this had occurred to a small, moderate, or large extent. When asked if they felt "free to report sexual harassment without fear of bad things happening" to them, 20 percent of women and 14 percent of men said "not true."

Of those victims who reported their experiences, 35 percent of women and 33 percent of men were dissatisfied with the complaint process overall. About a third were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied and a third were satisfied.

Seventy-nine percent of women and 85 percent of men reported receiving sexual harassment training. In terms of how much training had occurred in the last 12 months, 26 percent of women and 34 percent of men reported receiving 4 hours or more of training. Forty percent of women and 42 percent of men reported receiving one to four hours of training. In addition, 98 percent of women and men reported they knew what kinds of words or actions are considered sexual harassment. When asked how effective the training was in reducing or preventing sexual harassment, 54 percent of women and 65 percent of men said "moderately to very effective," 33 percent of women and 27 of men said "slightly," and 12 percent of women and eight percent of men said "not effective."

Overall, 87 percent of women and 89 percent of men said they knew the process for reporting sexual harassment, although fewer women (59%) than men (67%) said they understood how to report "to a large extent." Junior enlisted (El -E4) were less likely to know how to report (83% indicated they knew how), compared to senior enlisted (E5-E9) (92%), and officers (95%). In terms of publicizing of formal complaint channels at their current duty stations, 65 percent of women and 74 percent of men said such channels had been publicized. Only 60 percent of junior enlisted (E1-E4) were aware of formal complaint channels at their duty stations, compared to 79 percent of senior enlisted (E5-E9) and 85 percent of officers. About 55 percent of men and women reported they knew of a specific office that investigated complaints at their duty station.

When asked their opinion about whether different leadership levels made honest and reasonable efforts to stop sexual harassment, 53 percent of women and 67 percent of men answered "yes" for senior leadership of Service, 52 percent of women and 67 percent of men answered "yes" for the senior leadership of their installation/ship, and 59 percent of women and 68 percent of men answered "yes" for their immediate supervisor.

These survey results are encouraging. They document a decline in harassment experiences and reflect DoD and the Services’ increased emphasis on combating sexual harassment. At the same time the surveys were being developed and fielded, significant other DEOC-related initiatives were implemented. It should be noted the timing of this study precluded measuring the effects of those initiatives. No doubt, the additional DEOC Task Force initiatives will advance the ability of the Department of Defense to combat sexual harassment.