In military academies, 1 in 5 female students said they experienced sexual assault

A cadet waits for the arrival of cadet candidates at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 2016. The Defense Department's recent survey showed that many young military academy students are still reluctant to come forward about sexual assault and harassment. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The Department of Defense received 155 formal reports of sexual assault at three military academies during the 2021-22 school year — and officials suspect that hundreds more went unreported.

The figure comes from a mandated anonymous survey conducted at service academies to address the likelihood that many young men and women are reluctant to come forward about sexual assault and harassment — an issue that has plagued the military for years.