Pentagon report faults policies on sexual assaults

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13688303.htm

WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) - Pentagon policies for preventing sexual assaults within the U.S. military's ranks are inconsistent, and female troops fear that they will be disbelieved if they accuse a male comrade of attacking them, a according to a Defense Department report released on Thursday.

Citing concern over a spate of sexual assaults against U.S. servicewomen in Iraq and Kuwait, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in February ordered a study of the military's policies on preventing sexual assaults, treating victims and punishing attackers.

A 99-page report issued by an eight-member task force said policies and programs within the military aimed at preventing sexual assaults were "inconsistent and incomplete," principally because there was no overall Pentagon policy requiring them.

The U.S. military has been rocked with sexual assault scandals in past years such the 1991 "Tailhook" scandal and the more recent cases at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.

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