§8480 Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence

Summary

The Secretary of the Navy must have the Superintendent of the Naval Academy create a clear policy on sexual harassment and sexual violence for midshipmen and other Academy staff, following guidance from the Secretary of Defense. The policy must include prevention and awareness programs; steps a victim should take (how to report, who to tell, options for confidential reporting, and how to protect evidence); rules for discipline and other penalties when offenses are proven; and required training for everyone, plus extra training for people who handle complaints. Each Academy program year the Navy must have the Department of Defense check how well the policy, training, and procedures are working. For program years that start in odd-numbered calendar years, a DoD survey must be done to count incidents that were reported and not reported (on and off base) and to ask people what they think about the policies, enforcement, and the problem itself. The Secretary of Defense may delay an assessment during a war or national emergency declared by the President or Congress, but must tell Congress within 30 days and run the assessment as soon as possible after the emergency ends. The Superintendent must send an annual report to the Secretary of the Navy with the number of reported sexual assaults and other sexual crimes and how many were substantiated, what actions were taken that year, and a plan for the next year. Reports for odd-start years must include the survey results. The Navy Secretary sends these reports to the Secretary of Defense and the Academy’s Board of Visitors, and the Secretary of Defense forwards them to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. If a midshipman is a victim of an alleged sexual assault or related crime under sections 920, 920c, or 930 (articles 120, 120c, or 130 of the UCMJ), the Navy must quickly consider a request to transfer that midshipman to another service academy or to join an ROTC program at another school. Victims must be told they can ask to transfer. Formal transfer requests must be acted on within 72 hours and should be approved unless there are exceptional reasons to deny them. If denied, the midshipman can ask the Secretary of the Navy to review the decision, and that review must be done within 72 hours. All records of requests and transfers must be kept confidential. A transferring midshipman may keep their Naval Academy appointment or be appointed to the new academy without regard to certain appointment limits.