MOSCOW, November 8 (RAPSI) – The Pentagon announced Thursday that reported sexual assaults in the military have increased by 46% in the past fiscal year, The Washington Post reported Friday.

According to the report, 3,553 complaints were lodged with the military between October 2012 and June of this year. That number is up from 2,434 during the same period the year prior.

The US Department of Defense (DOD) issued a statement earlier this week noting that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had discussed the issue of sexual assaults in the military with a group of non-commissioned officers (NCOs). According to the statement: “He told the NCOs that the system was broken, and that the services are working to fix it. One NCO noted to the secretary that the recent case of an officer tasked with formulating service policy to combat sexual assault being accused of the crime does not help the push to eliminate sexual assaults in the military.”

In August The Wall Street Journal reported that the DOD planned to take on the problem of sexual assault in the military with a package of initiatives and policy changes. These changes reportedly included the expansion of legal assistance to sexual assault victims, permitting commanders to transfer those accused of having committed sexual assault, and mandating the notification of a general of incidents and the military’s response to them.

Last week, the US Army announced via its news service that victims of sexual assault will now be entitled to their own legal representation following incidents. According to the release, “Beginning Nov. 1, 2013, Soldiers who report that they have been the victim of a sexual assault can elect to have a Special Victims Counsel assigned to them. An SVC is an active duty Army attorney, provided at no charge to the victim, who will represent the victim's interest throughout the course of the legal proceedings that might follow the report of a sexual assault.”