Weekly Spotlight: A crisis of Domestic Abuse goes Undercounted at the Army

Delivered to our subscribers on Saturdays, the Weekly Spotlight is a roundup of POGO's latest work and announcements. Sign up to get this newsletter delivered to your inbox.

The Army is undercounting domestic abuse incidents by the thousands, according to an audit POGO obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. We published a breaking investigation this week into the inefficient dual tracking systems the Army uses for reporting instances of domestic abuse and the inconsistencies in the data collected through those systems. To make matters worse, required preventative trainings and treatment plans meant to reduce instances of repeat offenses aren’t always being completed.

All of this only adds to the existing issue of underreporting of incidents of domestic abuse among service members and their spouses or intimate partners. The unique circumstances of military service — deployment, frequent relocation, potential economic dependence on the service member, the lack of tenant rights for a spouse or partner living in military housing — make it so that these relationships can be more vulnerable to domestic abuse, while also increasing barriers to reporting.

In a previous investigation, we reported on the Army’s lack of action to implement changes for addressing crises of sexual harassment and assault, domestic violence, suicide, and substance abuse within the ranks, after funding dozens of studies into the problems.

Accountability starts with accurate data. It’s crucial that the Army address the faults in its reporting systems to better understand the crises at hand, and that it treats these issues with the care and urgency that service members and their families deserve.

Read our new investigation on pogo.org.

INVESTIGATION

Thousands of Army Domestic Abuse Incidents Uncounted, Audit Shows

A recently disclosed report shows top officials dismissed inspector general warnings that actions against a whistleblower could be seen as retaliation.

Read Now

FURTHER READING

Audit Criticizes Army’s Suicide, Sexual Assault Research Oversight

Few “Actionable Recommendations” Flow from Scores of Studies Amidst Ongoing Crises

Read Now

INVESTIGATION

“Grudges” and Whistleblower Reprisal at a Development Agency

A recently disclosed report shows top officials dismissed inspector general warnings that actions against a whistleblower could be seen as retaliation.

Read Now

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“[Schedule F is] designed to be a tool to purge federal agencies of nonpartisan experts [and replace them with] partisan loyalists who would willingly follow any order without question, regardless of whether it was legal, constitutional, or the right thing to do for the people.”

Joe Spielberger, Policy Counsel, on Heatmap

ONE LINERS

“You can see where it can grind work to a halt, because even people who are trying to do the right thing [would] be afraid that if they do something wrong, they’ll be out of a job.”

Joe Spielberger, Policy Counsel, in Huffington Post

“That makes the contracting officers’ jobs even harder when they’re trying to figure out if the price is reasonable and fair – and they already have a hard time trying to figure that out under the current system.”

Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Senior Government Affairs Manager, in Defense News