Filing restricted sexual assault reports harm the military. Are they illegal?

The system is broken. &nbsp;Claiming that people who refuse to file publicly into a system that will not protect them - and likely not punish the perpetrator either - lack "personal courage" demonstrates a significant ignorance of what has been going on with this issue. &nbsp;<div><br></div><div>I know that there are people out there that are working hard to make things better and I applaud those efforts, but we are not there yet.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As for your example of not reporting other crimes - Exactly! &nbsp;People don't tell when they know someone stole something from the PX. &nbsp;Why?</div><div><br></div><div>Now, picture that instead of having to report something impersonal, you have to report that someone overpowered you. &nbsp;Someone attacked you in an extremely personal way. &nbsp;Someone robbed you of something you can never replace. &nbsp;*And* you will be called a "narc," and you will be accused of contributing to the crime, and people will question your motives for your report, just as they would with the PX crime. &nbsp;But, different from the PX crime, you might not be able to prove that any crime happened, and even if you can, the criminal will likely be essentially let go. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>There are no easy answers here. &nbsp;I firmly believe that if there were, the problem would be solved. &nbsp;Hearing someone say that people who don't report lack "<font color="#4d4d4d"><span style="font-size: 12px;">integrity and personal courage" has me shaking my head at how far we still have to go. &nbsp;What your remarks lack is empathy, and that kind of lack of empathy&nbsp;suppresses&nbsp;reporting.</span></font></div>

While you do make some valid points.. The whole purpose behind the restricted report is to allow the survivor time to regain control of their situation. To determine the course of action that is to be taken.. Get services needed prior to getting the chain of command and CID involved. Most restricted reports end up going unrestricted anyhow but you can't diminish the integrity or the person's character who decides not to go unrestricted. Often times victims tend to be re victimized which can add to trauma. It's in our inquisitive nature to want to ask our fellow Soldiers what's wrong during times of crisis but it can do more harm than good in instances of military sexual trauma. Restricted reporting is very important and should never be looked down upon as much as we all want to nail the bastards who commit these horrible crimes. Remember, re victimizing can be devastating.