Co-authored by Trista Brantley, Amira Dehmani, Jillian Seymour, and Erin Simard.
As Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight’s recent filings against the United States Coast Guard Academy illustrate, sexual violence survivors are harmed not only by the perpetrators but also by the institutions that fail to protect them. Often, the institutional betrayal can be just as damaging as the sexual assault itself. Institutional betrayal occurs when an institution fails “to prevent or respond supportively to wrongdoings within the institution when there is a reasonable expectation of protection.”[1] Unfortunately, all too often, sexual assault survivors are mistreated by the very institutions that are supposed to keep them safe.
The Failure of Military Institutions to Protect Their Own
As recent reports show, military service academies have frequently responded in harmful ways to those coming forward to report sexual violence. Because most cadets attend service academies out of a desire to serve their country and a love for the military organization, they feel a profound sense of betrayal when the institution turns its back on them. Sexual assault survivors at service academies have routinely watched as the institution covered up their harm or subjected them to victim-blaming and other forms of gaslighting. The recent scandal surrounding the Coast Guard’s decades long cover-up of pervasive sexual assault at the Academy demonstrates this type of institutional misconduct and highlights the trauma this causes survivors.
Sexual assault and misconduct remain a pervasive problem in service academies and the broader military. A 2021-2022 military survey found that more than one in five female cadets, and over one in twenty-five male cadets reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact in the prior reporting period.[2] More recently, a Brown University study found that military sexual assault rates are likely two to four times higher than government estimates.[3] It is no secret that sexual violence continues to plague many military academies. Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan’s testimony to Congress on June 11, 2024 confirmed that many of these cases have been grossly mishandled by the institutions charged with investigating them.[4]
The Psychological Impact of Institutional Betrayal on Cadets
The negative psychological impact of institutional betrayal on survivors is severe and distressing, particularly in the military. A 2013 study found that service-member survivors of sexual assault who subsequently faced institutional betrayal upon reporting had exacerbated PTSD symptoms, including “increased levels of anxiety, trauma-specific sexual symptoms, dissociation, and problematic sexual functioning.”[5] The institutional betrayal serves to prolong the trauma of survivors attempting to recover from sexual violence. Furthermore, this pain can be heightened within the context of military and federal service academies. Military academies have an environment built upon trust, loyalty, and camaraderie. Researchers speculate that this close-knit aspect of service academies exacerbates the pain survivors feel when they are betrayed by the institutional failures of their academy.[6]
These injustices have led Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight's Christine Dunn, a lawyer with a proven passion for maritime and military sexual assault cases, to take on the Coast Guard Academy with full force. She hopes to obtain justice for these clients just like she has for other survivors of military sexual assault in the past.
Operation Fouled Anchor: the Re-traumatization of the USCGA Cover-Up
A particularly relevant aspect of the claims against the Coast Guard Academy, according to Dunn, is the re-traumatization caused to survivors by the institutional mishandling of their experiences. When asked how the Coast Guard’s cover-up, publicly known as Operation Fouled Anchor, has caused harm to survivors, Dunn cited the Coast Guard’s depth of concealment to have caused some of the most recurrent suffering. She states that realizing that “their cases were being systematically ignored and covered up, and that there was an explicit plan to cover it up and not disclose the problems at the Academy” has had an extreme emotional and psychological impact on the survivors.
The pain of institutional betrayal, particularly by an organization required to defend and protect you, can cause particularly acute suffering for survivors of military sexual violence. Dunn states that “the institutional betrayal and backlash that comes after reporting” can amplify the trauma and make it difficult for survivors to cope. For Coast Guard Academy sexual assault survivors, institutional mishandling has been a source of great pain.
The Fight for Justice for Survivors and Systemic Change at Military Academies
Holding institutions liable for systemic negligence serves as a pathway to justice and a way to prevent future harm. Unafraid to hold institutions accountable, Dunn believes that “the best way to create global change is to force institutions to change and do better and to make things safer.” Though she understands that going after individual perpetrators is important, especially to survivors, she views holding institutions accountable as having “the ability to create comprehensive change that can keep everyone safer going forward” in a way that the former does not.
For example, in 2022, Dunn took on the case of Midshipman X, which involved a former student of the US Merchant Marine Academy, Hope Hicks, who was raped aboard a commercial ship during her sea year. Hicks turned her story of sexual assault and institutional betrayal into a blog post that went viral. As a direct result of her bravery in publicly coming forward, passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 that required ships to make concrete changes to improve safety.
Dunn sees this as a perfect example of why survivors should feel encouraged to come forward, despite the potential of facing resistance from one’s institution. Dunn says that one reason survivors “come forward is because they do not want what they’ve experienced to happen to anyone else.” By reporting sexual assaults, survivors have the potential to hold institutions accountable and to create real changes that will benefit future generations.
“It is very empowering to be able to make that type of change and to protect other people from experiencing the same thing,” Dunn said.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual misconduct while at the Coast Guard Academy, or any other military institute, please contact us via email at [email protected] or Christine Dunn at [email protected].
[1] https://www.jjfreyd.com/project-on-institutional-courage#:~:text=From%20Institutional%20Betrayal%20to%20Institutional,assault)%20committed%20within%20the%20context
[2] https://www.sapr.mil/sites/default/files/public/docs/reports/MSA/DOD_Annual_Report_on_Sexual_Harassment_and_Violence_at_MSAs_APY21-22.pdf
[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/us-military-sexual-assault-rates-2-4-higher-govt-estimates-study-says-rcna166490
[4] https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/11/politics/coast-guard-leader-testifies-congress-invs/index.html
[5] Dangerous Safe Havens: Institutional Betrayal Exacerbates Sexual Trauma | Request PDF (researchgate.net)
[6] Institutional_betrayal_following_militar.pdf