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Sexual assault reports increase within the military

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Soldiers in the Old Guard arrive to place flags at graves in Arlington National Cemetery during "Flags In" in preparation for Memorial Day May 25, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. (Brendan SmialowskiI/AFP via Getty Images)
Soldiers in the Old Guard arrive to place flags at graves in Arlington National Cemetery during "Flags In" in preparation for Memorial Day May 25, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. (Brendan SmialowskiI/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. military has been unable to solve the long-standing crisis of sexual assault in its ranks. In fact, the problem appears to be getting worse.

In the past year, as pandemic restrictions have lifted, reported sexual assaults across the military increased by 13%. That number comes from the Pentagon's latest survey of military members.

Here & Now's Celeste Headlee talks with Col. Don Christensen, who served as the former chief prosecutor for the U.S. Air Force and is now the president of Protect Our Defenders, a nonprofit aimed at ending sexual assault in the military.

This segment aired on September 15, 2022.

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