But officials noted that sexual harassment reports rose slightly over the same time period, and many victims remain reluctant to file formal complains, blunting some of the optimism surrounding the issue.
According to statistics released Thursday, department officials received 8,195 sexual assault reports in 2024 involving service members, down from 8,515 in 2023.
Of the 2024 total, 6,973 reports involved troops being assaulted by fellow military members. That total is down roughly 4% from fiscal 2023 and down almost 5.5% from fiscal 2022. The Associated Press said the largest decrease was in the Army, which saw a one-year drop of about 13%.
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Officials said the majority of reports come from young women, although just over 1% of all men who serve in the military have experienced sexual violence by a peer.
Dr. Nathan Galbraith, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said that officials are encouraged by the continued rates of reporting even if they are working to reduce all instances of sexual assault.
“The warfighter ethos values respect for one’s comrades in arms, and sexual assault and sexual harassment are antithetical to that ethos,” he said. “Preventing these crimes is essential to maintaining a unified mission ready military.”
Sexual harassment complaints rose about 1% from fiscal 2024 to 2025, but still saw a two-year decrease of nearly 6%.
Whether officials will be able to continue that progress remains unclear. During a Pentagon briefing on the report numbers, officials acknowledged that looming staffing cuts throughout the department could impact future work on sexual assault prevention and prosecution.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has publicly pledged to trim tens of thousands of civilian jobs from the department in coming months, as part of a broader White House effort to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.
But Galbraith said officials are encouraged by recent improvements to the reporting and legal response processes.
He also acknowledged the extent of the problem is likely much bigger than the annual report shows.
An anonymous, military-wide survey conducted by the services last year found that more than 29,000 active-duty troops had experienced unwanted sexual contact in the previous 12 months.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
