The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy recorded 24 instances of sexual misconduct during the 2023-2024 academic year, according to a recent report to Congress.
The document, compiled yearly as required by law, describes every incident that midshipmen reported during that period.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, 31 cases were reported, a 23% decrease year over year. The most recent number is still the second highest since the start of the decade, with 10 sexual misconduct incidents reported in 2019-2020, 15 in 2020-2021, and 21 in 2021-2022.
Two sexual assaults were reported, both by female midshipmen with men listed as the perpetrators.
Nineteen of the cases were categorized as sexual harassment, while the remaining three were incidents of relationship violence. Fifteen of the sexual harassment reports were submitted by female midshipmen, four by men. Every instance of relationship violence was disclosed by women, all implicating male midshipmen.
Of the 24 total incidents, seven were listed as restricted, meaning that the events were reported but no investigation was requested. Both of the sexual assaults fell into this category.
Disciplinary action was taken in six of the cases, all against men.
The report also included data showing that women at the USMMA experience unwanted sexual contact at a rate of more than 26 percent, while that number is under 3% for men.
Focus group data from the document indicated that sexual misconduct at the Academy might be underreported, as well. The groups in previous years had identified a “locker room” culture among the midshipmen, which the report found has persisted.
“This ‘locker room’ culture has created a space where women disclosed feeling discomfort reporting sexual misconduct concerns due to a fear of retaliation,” the brief states.
The campus demographics at the Academy also pose a challenge, as the nearly 80% male student body and relatively small enrollment pose “structural and organizational barriers that prevent the reduction of sexual misconduct.”
Efforts to contact the USMMA about the report were unsuccessful.
