My daughter will be SAP at MMI for the Coast Guard Academy. As a mother, I paid attention to reports of sexual assault and unwanted contact at the Service Academies over the years. As horrible as it is to say this, there are some professions where instances of unwanted contact and sexual assault are going to be higher.
We, as parents, can not change that environment for our them. What we can do is prepare our daughters for what they may encounter and give them the tools to combat it. Teach them to make it clear that certain behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, instruct them to report that behavior, give our girls the strength to know it's okay to get up and walk out if they are uncomfortable, and if necessary fight back and don't be afraid to incapacitate an attacker.
Parents of boys need to teach their sons to respect boundaries, that No means No, and when in doubt, get the hell out. Remove themselves from a situation which could turn into he said, she said.
As parents, we can address our concerns to the Academies and Institutions that our children attend, making it very clear that we expect that all Cadets, Instructors, Staff and anyone who comes into contact with our students in that environment will receive appropriate training to address sexual assault and inappropriate contact. All parties need to know who to contact to report unwanted behavior, and what the process and procedures are for addressing it. A combined effort of instruction, education, awareness and aggressively, but fairly addressing sexual assault reports is the best way to reduce the instances of it's occurrence.
If it were up to me, all first year female Cadets would be required to take jujitsu, judo, aikido or a combination of the three with an emphasis an grappling with an aggressor that out weights them. Instruction on how to use what ever is in their environment as a weapon in the event they are attacked or need to defend themselves should be included.
Whether we like it or not, our daughters are going out into a world where we can not always protect them, one of the best things we can do for them is to teach them situational awareness and equip them with the skills to protect and defend themselves.