Reports of sexual assault within the U.S. military decreased for the third consecutive year in 2025, according to a Department of Defense report released Friday. The Pentagon received 7,998 reports of sexual assault during the 2025 fiscal year, a decline from 8,195 in 2024 and 8,942 in 2022. Sexual harassment complaints also saw a slight decrease, falling from 3,014 in 2024 to 2,936 last year.
The data is part of a 29-page annual report mandated by the 2011 Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the Pentagon to provide these figures to congressional committees. Of the total sexual assault reports filed in 2025, 5,022 were unrestricted reports—meaning they were reported to the chain of command and initiated official investigations—while 2,976 remained restricted. Under Secretary of Defense Anthony J. Tata stated the report reflects the department's commitment to maintaining force preparedness and protecting personnel.
The report also estimated the prevalence of unwanted sexual contact based on survey data, indicating that approximately 20,492 active service members experienced such contact in 2025, down from 29,061 in 2023. Among the service branches, the Marine Corps reported the highest percentage of women experiencing unwanted sexual contact at 6.4 percent, while the Air Force reported the lowest at 2.8 percent. For men, the Navy recorded the highest rate at 1.5 percent.
For individual service members, the data reflects changes in how they interact with military legal and reporting systems. The Pentagon reported that one-third of victims chose to formally report their incidents in 2025, an increase from one-quarter in 2023. However, the nonprofit group Protect Our Defenders suggested this may not indicate improvement, citing the administration's recent actions to roll back whistleblower protections and revamp oversight offices. A service member's decision to file an "unrestricted report" is the primary mechanism for accessing military-provided mental health care and legal assistance, yet the Pentagon found sufficient evidence for disciplinary action in only 1,321 cases last year.
The findings establish a baseline for evaluating recent policy shifts, such as the Navy’s decision to pause sexual assault prevention training and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s move to reorganize whistleblower complaint offices under the Inspector General. These changes may influence the future volume of anonymous reports and the level of trust service members place in the chain of command. The 2025 report was delivered to the House and Senate Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees on August 10. Future oversight will likely focus on whether the decline in reports represents a genuine decrease in incidents or a reduction in the willingness of personnel to come forward.