The Prevalence and Characteristics of Intimate Partner-Related Sexual Violence in the Active Component: Findings From the 2021 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Military Members (2021 WGR) report summarizes the prevalence and characteristics of intimate partner-related sexual violence in the military. For the first time, the 2021 WGR survey incorporated the ability to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner-related unwanted sexual contact incidents as a form of intimate partner violence (IPV), as recommended by the 2021 Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military. To this end, data from the 2021 WGR were analyzed to estimate the past year prevalence rates of intimate partner-related unwanted sexual contact among military members as well as to explore the context and outcomes surrounding these experiences.
Findings suggest the experience of intimate partner-related unwanted sexual contact, though rare overall, is persistent when it occurs, spanning multiple incidents and involving multiple harms, which is consistent with the pattern of behaviors constituting domestic abuse. As such, active duty component women who experience intimate partner-related unwanted sexual contact may be at higher risk for a variety of negative outcomes, which may warrant additional examination of policies, procedures, and support services to ensure military members who experience unwanted sexual contact at the hands of an intimate partner get the support they need to stop the abuse and heal so they can continue to serve in the military to the highest extent that their interests and abilities warrant.