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Former Air Force cadet Beth Davis - who was the first to claim sexual assault was a "dirty secret" at the U.S. Air Force Academy - told officials Wednesday that the underlying problem in the academies is a failure of leadership.

Davis told members of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies that academy leaders are inconsistent in responding to assault claims and create a culture of cynicism toward victims.

"The leaders don't live up to the standards that they preach," Davis said. "It is the leadership that came down on me."

Davis, who says she was raped multiple times while attending the Air Force Academy and was retaliated against when she tried to report the incidents, encouraged the task force to gather information from victims in preparing their recommendations on preventing and responding to sexual harassment and sexual violence at the military schools. Davis said that the military's new limited confidentiality policy is a good start in encouraging victims to come forward.

Delilah Rumburg, the task force's co-chair and executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, told Davis that she is glad Davis came forward and encouraged all victim of sexual assault to tell the panel their stories.

Davis's lawyer, Joseph Madonia, said he hopes the academies take this task force's recommendations more seriously than they did the panel headed by former Rep. Tillie Fowler, R-Fla.

"The military has tried to sweep this under the rug," Madonia told the panel. "We hope the military gives more credence to your recommendations."

Members of the task force have visited both academies to talk to cadets and midshipmen. A survey released earlier this month revealed that 50 percent of women at the academies said they had experienced some type of harassment, and 13 percent reported they were sexually assaulted while at the academies.

Recommendations from the task force will include how to implement the Pentagon's confidentiality policy, establish victim witness coordinator and a victim advocate positions, create a policy on offender accountability and victim and witness misconduct, improve training and prevention programs, and modify what some experts in the field of sexual assault trauma have called a "culture of rape" at the academies.

"You're really going to have to change the culture if you're going to have leaders on board with this," said panel member and RAND social scientist Laura Miller.

The recommendations will be another in a long series of panels, papers and reports on how to correct a military culture that lawmakers say does not do enough to prevent and respond to sexual violence.

The panel's other co-chair, Navy personnel chief Vice Adm. Gerald Hoewing, said the panel has found little difference between the military academies and that little has surprised him so far.

The task force was created in September 2004 and after completing its report, which is due Sept. 22, will turn its attention for 18 months to examining sexual assault militarywide as required by the fiscal 2005 Defense authorization bill.

COMMENTS

• The bravery of Beth Davis is amazing. This country and the war on terror would have been best served by young men and women with her kind of courage. As she gave her statement before the panel, her tears began to fall. It was then that I saw what courage really is. She faced a group of people and the whole nation on television. She has inspired me to stand up for not only myself, but to teach my teen-age daughters how to have courage under fire! She is a leader. She has paved the way for women of the future. All she wanted to do was serve her country that you could tell she loved. I would be honored to speak with her personally or by e-mail. Beth, your strength and honor shines bright even though your soul has been wounded. Your body has been torn and your heart broken. But, my friend, your spirit is strong. Continue to hold your ground. Thank you. Thank you for making this world a better place for my girls ... 16 and 17 years old. Hold your ground and don’t give up or give in!!! My prayers are with you! God Bless you!! You have served your country more than you know! Tricia Slaughter Posted July 1, 2006 4:16 AM
• If the rampant crime was robbery or murder more would be done to punish the guilty and enforce the law. There wouldn't be people yammering on about our culture, changing men's behavior, women in the workplace etc. Why is rape treated differently? Is it so unreasonable to expect that these men should be capable of working with women and not raping them? Is that such a high bar to set for their behaviour? Lisa Wagner Posted April 5, 2005 10:06 AM
• Same story, same response. No one up line is ever responsible. Our Government strongly believes in protecting the people at the top and protecting them at all costs. I've seen it many times while working as a civil servant. These people are allowed to get away with wrongs that people in the rank and file would immediately be dismissed for. Case in point is Clinton and the Monica incident. Most federal employees know their career would have been terminated if they had done the same. It's politics and it will never change. So expect more of the same. GovExec.com reader Posted April 4, 2005 7:49 AM