COLLINS STATEMENT ON INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS AT AIR FORCE ACADEMY

"The findings of the independent civilian panel underscore the grave concerns I have about the danger and suppression female cadets have faced at the US Air Force Academy. It is disturbing and unacceptable that so many female cadets have been subject to rape and sexual assault. It is even more unacceptable that some in the leadership at the Academy turned a blind eye to this problem.

"We cannot ignore the urgency for action called for by the panel, when it writes, ‘The sexual assault problems at the Academy are real and continue to this day.' Over the past decade, there was an average of more than 14 allegations of sexual assault per year. A survey this past May by the Department of Defense Inspector General revealed that 24.2 percent of female cadets in the class of 2003 reported to have been victims of a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault, while nearly half that group, 11.7 percent of those cadets, said they were victims of rape or attempted rape. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, it is of particular concern to me that the civilian review concluded that ‘Academy leaders and Air Force leaders knew or should have known that this data was an unmistakable warning sign and quite possibly signaled an even larger crisis.' Changes must be enforced immediately and those responsible must be held accountable.

"The civilian review panel is right in concluding that current steps to correct the problems at the Academy must go further to institutionalize permanent change. In order to do that, Academy and Air Force leadership must take aggressive steps to change the culture at the Academy, put into place permanent and consistent oversight by Air Force Headquarters, improve external oversight by the Academy's Board of Visitors, and reinstate a confidentiality policy so that sexual assault victims will feel safe reporting violence against them and can receive proper counseling and treatment.

"Our women cadets are a valued asset to our armed forces. They deserve to be safe and proud of their time at the Air Force Academy. The standards and core values of our military demand it."

The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the civilian panel report on the allegations of sexual misconduct at the Air Force Academy this Wednesday, September 24, 2003, at 9:45am. The hearing will be held in SR-325, the Caucus Room, of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.