DOD’s Policies on Sexual Harassment Include Some but Not All of CDC’s Principles and Most Relevant Legislative Elements

DOD’s policies on sexual harassment include some but not all of CDC’s  principles and most relevant legislative elements. We also noted during our review  that most existing policies have not yet been updated to reflect a  provision in the fiscal year 2017 NDAA that redefined sexual harassment  for certain purposes so it is no longer defined solely as a form of sex  discrimination but is recognized also as an adverse behavior on the  spectrum of behaviors that can contribute to an increase in the incidence  of sexual assault. Common elements missing from DOD’s sexual harassment policies are  risk factors and protective factors, which identify conditions or behaviors  that might heighten or lower the risk of sexual harassment victimization or  perpetration, respectively. However, because the policy is under  development, it is too early to determine how the policy will address the  CDC principles and anonymous reporting, as discussed earlier. They identified some  actions they will take, but the full implications, if any, of the change are  unclear. DOD Has Processes for Maintaining and Reporting Consistent Data on Incidents of Sexual Assault and Domestic Abuse That Involves Sexual Assault, but Does Not Have Reasonable Assurance of Consistent Data on Sexual Harassment

DOD has processes for maintaining and reporting consistent data on  sexual assault incidents and domestic violence incidents that involve  sexual assault, but the department does not have similar assurance of  consistent data on incidents of sexual harassment. Inconsistencies in data elements and definitions among the military  services generally mean that one military service may be maintaining  sexual harassment data that are more or less detailed than sexual  harassment data maintained by other military services, or that is simply  different from the data maintained by other military services. Additionally,  inconsistent data elements and definitions may create difficulties in  reporting sexual harassment data from the military services to OSD for a  department-wide report, since ODMEO has to adapt data from the  services to fit reporting requirements. DOD Has Several Overarching Efforts to Address Unwanted Sexual Behaviors across the Continuum of Harm

DOD has several overarching efforts to address unwanted sexual  behaviors across the continuum of harm. DOD Is Developing an Overarching Prevention Strategy to Address the Continuum of Harm, but It Is Unclear Whether DOD Will Include Key Elements of a Long-Term, Results- Oriented Strategy

DOD has taken steps to integrate activities related to the continuum of  harm and is in the process of developing an overarching prevention  strategy. By incorporating the elements of a comprehensive and results-oriented  strategy into its overarching prevention strategy, the department will be  better positioned to effectively coordinate and integrate prevention  activities and reduce unwanted sexual behaviors. Conclusions

Studies by DOD and others have shown that unwanted sexual behaviors  do not exist in isolation but are part of a range of interconnected,  inappropriate behaviors that are connected to the occurrence of a sexual  assault. Further, DOD has developed reliable data systems for  collecting and reporting data on some of the unwanted sexual behaviors  including sexual assault and instances of domestic violence with sexual  assault. (Recommendation 2)
The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness should (1)  direct the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity to  develop standard data elements and definitions for maintaining and  reporting information on sexual harassment incidents at the military  service level, and (2) direct the military services to incorporate these data  elements and definitions into their military service-specific databases. DOD concurred with our three recommendations that DOD fully include in  the new policy for sexual harassment the principles in the CDC's  framework for sexual violence prevention, that DOD also include in the  new sexual harassment policy mechanisms for anonymous reporting, and  that DOD incorporate in its continuum of harm strategy all the elements  that are key for establishing a long-term, results-oriented strategic  planning framework. We reviewed  CDC’s framework for preventing sexual violence as well as our report on  DOD’s sexual assault prevention strategy to identify six principles that an  organization can include in a sexual violence prevention strategy or  policy:
Risk factors: Factors that may put people at risk for sexual violence  perpetration or victimization, such as an organizational climate that  either explicitly or implicitly condones sexual harassment;
Protective factors: Factors that may protect high-risk people from  harm, such as an organizational climate that promotes respect among  personnel at all levels;
Primary strategies for prevention: Strategies that occur before sexual  violence takes place to prevent initial perpetration, such as sexual  harassment prevention training;
Secondary strategies for prevention: Immediate responses after  sexual violence has occurred to address the early identification of  victims and the short-term consequences of violence, such as  reporting mechanisms and immediate interventions;
Tertiary strategies for prevention: Long-term responses after sexual  violence has occurred to address the lasting consequences of  violence and sex-offender treatment interventions, such as the long- term treatment of the victim and perpetrator; and
Risk domains: Levels at which risk and protective factors should be  categorized, including: individual, relationship, community, and  society. In  addition, we reviewed the OSD and service-level sexual harassment  policies to determine the extent to which they included three elements  identified in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2013,  which directed DOD to develop a comprehensive policy that includes  sexual harassment prevention training for the armed forces; mechanisms  for reporting incidents, including mechanisms for anonymous reporting;  and mechanisms for responding to and resolving instances of sexual  harassment, including for the prosecution of perpetrators.
Why GAO Did This Study

Unwanted sexual behaviors in the military—including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic violence involving sexual assault—undermine core values, unit cohesion, combat readiness, and public goodwill. Recent studies suggest that these behaviors are part of a “continuum of harm,” which DOD defines as a range of interconnected, inappropriate behaviors that are connected to the occurrence of sexual assault and that support an environment that tolerates these behaviors.
Senate Report 114-255 included a provision for GAO to review efforts by DOD to prevent unwanted sexual behaviors in the military. GAO assessed the extent to which DOD has (1) policies on sexual harassment that include CDC principles and relevant legislative elements; (2) processes for maintaining and reporting consistent data on incidents of unwanted sexual behaviors; and (3) overarching efforts, including a prevention strategy, to address unwanted sexual behaviors across the continuum of harm. GAO reviewed DOD policies and pertinent databases, and interviewed agency officials.

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense's (DOD) policies on sexual harassment include some but not all of the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) principles for preventing sexual violence and include most relevant legislative elements. GAO identified six principles from CDC's framework for preventing sexual violence, which CDC defines as including sexual harassment. GAO found that Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and military service policies generally include CDC's principles regarding prevention strategies, but none address risk and protective factors, which identify conditions or behaviors that might heighten or lower the risk of sexual harassment victimization or perpetration, respectively. Additionally, a statutory provision in fiscal year 2013 mandated that DOD, among other things, develop a comprehensive sexual harassment policy that includes prevention training, mechanisms for anonymous reporting, and mechanisms for resolving incidents of sexual harassment. OSD and service policies are generally consistent with those required elements except for the inclusion of anonymous reporting. DOD is developing a new department-wide policy that will address sexual harassment, but it is too early to determine how the policy will address these issues. Without policies that include CDC's principles and mechanisms for anonymous reporting, DOD may miss opportunities to address and potentially reduce incidents of unwanted sexual behaviors. Finally, a statutory change in fiscal year 2017 redefined sexual harassment for certain purposes so it is no longer defined solely as a form of sex discrimination but is recognized also as an adverse behavior on the spectrum of behavior that can contribute to an increase in the incidence of sexual assault. While officials indicated a need to update policies, they were unclear on the full implications, if any, of this change.
DOD has processes for maintaining and reporting consistent data on incidents of unwanted sexual behaviors including sexual assault and incidents of domestic violence that involve sexual assault, but does not have similar processes for maintaining and reporting data on incidents of sexual harassment. Specifically, DOD uses centralized databases to maintain and report data on incidents of sexual assault and domestic violence that involve sexual assault, but relies on military service-specific databases for information on incidents of sexual harassment. DOD has not established standard data elements and definitions to guide the services in maintaining and reporting data on sexual harassment. Inconsistencies in data elements and definitions generally mean that one service may be maintaining data that is more or less detailed than, or that differs from, the data maintained by other services. Such inconsistencies may create difficulties in reporting department-wide sexual harassment data, since the individual service data must be adapted to fit reporting requirements.
DOD has several overarching efforts to address unwanted sexual behaviors across the continuum of harm, including developing an overarching prevention strategy. However, it is unclear whether the strategy under development will contain key elements for long-term and results-oriented strategic planning such as long-term goals, strategies to achieve goals, and metrics to gauge progress. Without incorporating these elements into its overarching prevention strategy, DOD may not be in a position to effectively coordinate and integrate prevention activities and reduce instances of unwanted sexual behaviors.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD fully include in its new policy on sexual harassment CDC's principles for sexual violence prevention and mechanisms for anonymous reporting, develop standard data elements and definitions for reporting sexual harassment incidents, and incorporate in its overarching prevention strategy elements key for a long-term, results-oriented strategy. DOD generally concurred with the recommendations.