jackie speier

Sexual misconduct at the nation’s three military academies has accelerated at an alarming rate and become a “crisis,” a U.S. House chairwoman said at a hearing Wednesday that was to include the Naval Academy’s superintendent.

Women who reported being sexually assaulted or harassed at the nation's elite military academies testified before Congressional panel Tuesday about having to live and work in close quarters with their attackers and facing the threat of retaliation from their classmates and leaders after coming forward.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel unveiled new initiatives Thursday to battle rape and other sexual assaults within the U.S. military after the Pentagon released a report showing an 8% increase in reported incidents over the past year.

Fifteen sexual assaults were reported to the academy during the 2012-2013 academic year, the Pentagon reported Friday, up from 13 in 2011-2012.

The number of sexual assaults reported at the Naval Academy increased slightly last year while reports fell at the other service academies, according to an assessment to be released by the Pentagon on Friday.

Congress was poised late Thursday to pass new legal protections for victims of sexual assault in the military, but victims and their advocates already were looking ahead to what they see as the larger battle: The contentious campaign to overhaul the military justice system.

The Navy defended its policy of having commanders determine which criminal cases go to trial as it responded Friday to a request to have that authority stripped from the Naval Academy superintendent.