Reported sexual assaults in the US military rose by 8% this year to 5,983, with nearly two-thirds of those who reported saying they faced retaliation.
The figures come from an anonymous survey conducted by the Pentagon.
Of the 19,000 overall people who said they had experienced unwanted sexual contact, about 10,500 were men and 8,500 women, the BBC reported.
Pentagon officials expressed concern that 62% of female victims said they faced repercussions for reporting assaults.
Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a prominent campaigner for victims of sexual assault, said the fact that the rate of retaliation had not fallen should be “a screaming red flag to everyone”.
