WASHINGTON, D.C. — An estimated 20,492 active-duty U.S. service members experienced unwanted sexual contact in fiscal 2025, but roughly two-thirds did not report the incidents to military authorities, according to a Department of War assessment showing both lower assault rates and persistent gaps in reporting and trust.
The estimate represents a decline from 29,061 active-duty personnel in fiscal 2023, when the military last conducted its congressionally mandated Workplace Experiences Survey.
Among active-duty women, the estimated prevalence of unwanted sexual contact fell to 4.3% from 6.8%. The rate among active-duty men declined to 1.0% from 1.3%.
Those percentages translate to approximately 9,860 women and 10,632 men who reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact in the confidential survey.
The department uses the term to measure conduct that may constitute rape, sexual assault, abusive sexual contact or attempted sexual offenses under military law.
Despite the decline, junior enlisted personnel and service members 24 or younger remained at greater risk than older or higher-ranking personnel.
The military received 7,998 sexual assault reports in fiscal 2025, down from 8,195 the previous year. Of those, 6,843 involved active-duty personnel reporting incidents that occurred during military service.
That figure represents approximately 33% of the estimated number of affected service members, up from 25% in fiscal 2023.
The remaining reports included other circumstances involving service members, including incidents that occurred before military service.
Among the 7,998 total reports, 5,022 were unrestricted, allowing an investigation, while 2,976 remained restricted at the end of the fiscal year.
Service members initially filed 3,574 restricted reports, with 598 subsequently converted to unrestricted cases.
The most common reasons personnel gave for not reporting were concerns that nothing would happen, beliefs that an incident was not serious enough and fears of backlash from colleagues or peers.
Trust in the military’s handling of sexual assault remained substantially lower among women than men.
Only 41% of women indicated they trusted the military to protect their privacy following an assault, compared with 64% of men. Another 45% of women and 69% of men expressed confidence that the military would protect their safety.
Women were also less likely to believe the Office of Special Trial Counsel would treat them fairly, with 44% expressing confidence compared with 65% of men.
The department reported sufficient evidence to pursue disciplinary action in 1,321 cases involving accused service members. In another 1,169 cases, disciplinary action was not pursued because proceedings were precluded or the reporting individual did not wish to participate.
Fewer than 1% of cases were classified as unfounded, meaning investigators had evidence indicating the alleged offense did not occur.
Among women who experienced unwanted sexual contact, 87% identified at least one alleged offender as a military member. The corresponding figure for men was 74%.
Approximately one-third of both women and men identified an alleged offender as someone of the same rank within their unit.
Sexual harassment also declined but continued to affect an estimated 84,400 active-duty personnel.
The harassment rate among women fell to 17.5%, representing approximately 39,744 service members, from 24.7% in fiscal 2023.
Among men, the rate declined to 4.4%, representing approximately 44,656 service members, from 5.8%.
The department received 2,936 sexual harassment complaints, compared with 3,014 in fiscal 2024.
Among personnel reporting unwanted sexual contact, 39% of women and 32% of men indicated the same alleged offender had sexually harassed them before the incident.
However, only 6% of those women and 5% of those men filed a harassment complaint before the alleged unwanted sexual contact occurred.
Estimated sex discrimination among active-duty women decreased to 9.5% from 13.2%, while the rate among men declined to 0.7% from 1.4%.
Within the reserve component, the estimated unwanted sexual contact rate among women fell to 2.7% from 3.9%, representing approximately 4,508 personnel.
The rate among reservist men declined to 0.6% from 0.7%, representing approximately 3,558 personnel, although the report determined that change was not statistically significant.
The department is moving sexual assault response coordinators and victim advocates outside the traditional chain of command and shifting toward full-time, professionally certified support staff.
A September 2025 directive exempted those positions from a department hiring freeze and authorized 100 additional hiring allocations for each military department and the National Guard Bureau.
The military’s Safe Helpline recorded 18,999 contacts during fiscal 2025, a 13% decrease from the previous year.
A separate program designed to identify potential serial offenders received 572 submissions and produced 48 matches during the fiscal year. Since its launch in 2019, the program has generated 203 matches from 3,571 submissions.
“Sexual assault and sexual harassment undermine these values, eroding trust and threatening the mission,” Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony J. Tata stated.
The full report is available at www.SAPR.mil, and information about the serial-offender identification program is available at www.sapr.mil/catch.
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