Pentagon says reports of sexual assault in military are down for third year in a row

The Pentagon publicly released a report Friday that showed the number of sexual assault reports in the United States military is still trending down for the third year in a row.

The report, which was sent to Congress on Aug. 10, noted that there have been a total of 7,998 reports of sexual assault in 2025, down from 8,195 reports in 2024. There were 8,515 reports of sexual assault in 2023 and 8,942 reports in 2022. 

The tallies are part of the Pentagon's annual review, which is required under Section 1631 of the 2011 Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act. 

Sexual harassment reports were also down in 2025, with 2,936 sexual harassment complaints lodged last year, lower than the 3,014 complaints in 2024.

“Dignity, respect and discipline are foundational to the warrior ethos and the overall preparedness of the force," Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony J. Tata said in a statement. "Sexual assault and sexual harassment undermine these values, eroding trust and threatening the mission.

“The [fiscal year] 2025 report underscores our ongoing commitment to maintaining high standards, protecting our people, and building a unified, ready and lethal fighting force,” he added.

The report said that of the 7,998 sexual assault reports in 2025, 5,022 were unrestricted reports and 2,976 remained restricted at the end of the year. Unrestricted reports are reported to the chain of command, resulting in an official probe that allows service members to access mental healthcare and legal assistance, according to The Hill.

The total number of enlisted service members who indicated they experienced unwanted sexual contact also declined between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, according to a "2025 Workplace Experiences Survey," that was included in the report.

The percentage of enlisted women who said they experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2025 was 4.3% compared to 6.8% in 2023. For enlisted men, the percentage decreased from 1.3% in 2023 to 1.0% in 2025, according to the survey.

The Pentagon said that based on those estimates, 20,492 service members experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact in 2025, which is 8,500 fewer personnel than in 2023.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.