![Coast Guard academy ignored sexual assault claims](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5a0b95683cc7512276a19afd43a6f51868110a1d/0_0_6720_4480/master/6720.jpg?width=1140&dpr=2&s=none)
More than 80 whistleblowers have testified that leaders at the Coast Guard Academy ignored decades of systemic sexual assault and harassment, in a new report released by a powerful government committee Wednesday.
The US Senate’s homeland security and government affairs subcommittee on investigations said sexual assault and harassment have been “fleet-wide problems” for the federal agency, “impacting enlisted members and officers just as pervasively as cadets”.
The report said: “For far too long, Coast Guard survivors have felt unheard and unseen. They have been brushed aside and silenced.”
Across its 48 pages, the report details how the academy fostered a culture that was “highly skeptical” of incidents being reported, silenced victims and enabled abuse.