The Sexual Assault Crisis in the United States Air Force Academy
![handle is hein.journals/cardw11 and id is 185 raw text is: THE SEXUAL ASSAULT CRISIS IN THE UNITED
STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
COLLEENDALTON*
[T]here is no 'military exception' to the Constitution.
- D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Mikval
INTRODUCTION
In the spring of 2003, the administration of the United States Air Force
Academy publicly acknowledged the existence of a longstanding crisis involving
the sexual assault of their female cadets.2 This admission was prompted in part by
an increasing number of young women who were sexually assaulted at the
Academy and then came forward to tell their stories. Until recently, these women
were frightened into not reporting sexual assaults due to fear of retaliation or
expulsion from the prestigious Academy.3 Independent investigations revealed
shocking stories and statistics about the prevalence of sexual assault on the campus.
This note provides an examination of the culture that has permitted such
widespread sexual assault to occur; it also considers preventative reforms as well as
legal modernizations, which attempt to deal justly with sexual assault cases. Part I
examines the pervasiveness and severity of the Air Force Academy's sexual assault
problem through victim testimonials and Department of Defense statistics. Part II
breaks down the historical efforts made by the Academy's administration since the
admission of women in 1976, which ultimately failed to remedy the sexual
. J.D. Candidate, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Managing Editor, Cardozo Women's Law
Journal. I would like to thank my family and Chris for their support and encouragement throughout my
law school career.
I Saum v. Widnall, 912 F. Supp. 1384, 1392 (D. Colo. 1996).
2 See REPORT OF THE PANEL To REVIEW SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS AT THE U.S. AIR
FORCE ACADEMY 2 (2003), available at http://www.usafa.af.mil/. In March 2003, the Air Force
Secretary and Air Force Chief of Staff published a new policy at the Academy known as the Agenda for
Change, a series of regulations and policy improvements intended to combat incidents of sexual assault
and the administration's tolerance of such incidents at the Academy.
3 See Deborah L. Rhode, Change the Culture, NAT'L L.J., Apr. 21, 2003, at A13. Many female
cadets suffered punishment upon reporting sexual violence because the details of the incident implicated
their involvement in some illegal activity, such as drinking alcohol, fraternization with upperclassmen,
or otherwise violating Academy rules. Id. In one case, after reporting a rape, a female cadet was
punished with demerits for her part in fraternizing with the upperclassman who allegedly raped her. Id.
When the male cadet claimed it was consensual, the administration informed the female cadet it was the
Academy's policy to punish them both since they couldn't be sure who was telling the truth. Id. The
female cadet later discovered that her reported rapist was never disciplined for the incident. Id. See The
Oprah Winfrey Show: Air Force Academy Rape Scandal (ABC television broadcast, Dec. 8, 2003).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cardw11&div=13&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Sexual Assault Crisis in the United States Air Force Academy
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