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Editorial: More research needed

A new study of Air Force women and sexual assault reaches the startling conclusion that more than one in four Air Force women have been raped.

Most of these assaults occurred before the women joined the Air Force.

One of the problems with the study, published in the September issue of the journal Violence Against Women, is that the survey upon which it is based took place more than 10 years ago.

While much has changed in those years, there is little to suggest that the passage of time would affect the most surprising finding of the study — victims of sexual abuse show a propensity to join the military.

This is worthy of further research.

It seems likely the Air Force is not the only service attracting victims of rape, and it would help to better understand the reasons behind this attraction.

While there is no reason to think rape victims make poor airmen, soldiers, sailors or Marines, there may be some military issues that need special attention. Two come to mind: recruiting and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The recent conviction of two Air Force recruiters who had sex with young women seeking to enlist is another reminder that this is an ongoing, if not widespread, problem. And while the Air Force has a zero-tolerance policy toward inappropriate conduct, Air Force officials would be well-advised to re-examine recruitment policies in light of the study’s findings.

A study done in the late 1990s by the Defense Women’s Health Research Program found that pre-military sexual trauma is a strong risk factor for post-traumatic stress disorder. If military women are more likely than civilians to have been traumatized, then it certainly makes sense to invest more money in this specialized area of PTSD research and in counseling programs.

There is still much to learn. It’s time to start.