When a sexual assault occurs at a US military academy, the victim faces the difficult decision of whether to file a restricted or unrestricted report. The key difference is an unrestricted report begins an official investigation by the military justice system, while a restricted report does not.
During the 2021–22 academic year, there were initially 140 restricted reports of sexual assault at military academies, but 26 reporters (19%) later changed their reports to unrestricted ones. At the end of the year, there were 114 restricted reports, the highest number ever received by the military academies on record.
