More than 73,000 rape cases in the U.S. military in 2023 alone; A quarter of women soldiers were raped during the war years in Afghanistan

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): The number of rapes in the U.S. military is likely to be significantly higher than official government estimates, according to a new study.

 

The US Department of Defense estimates that there will be about 35,900 rapes in 2021 and 29,000 in 2023, but the author of the study said that using a combination of independent data, it is estimated that 75,569 rapes will occur in the country. 2021 and 73,695 cases in 2023, more than twice as many as the official Ministry of Defense figures.

 

According to research conducted in the Costs of War Project by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, “on average, nearly a quarter of women and 1.9 percent of men were raped during the war years in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. They have experienced it in the army.” Black women and sexual minorities experienced higher rates of sexual assault, according to the study.

 

Notably, in 2021, U.S. lawmakers passed a defense bill that included an overhaul of the military judicial system and decisions about prosecuting cases of rape or sexual harassment outside the influence or handling of military commanders.