Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called for a number of reforms to the military service academies to change harmful and illegal behaviors that are on the rise there.

Austin sent a memo to top DOD officials on Wednesday responding to the findings of the 2023 Military Service Academy OSIE Report, which detailed how each institution needed to do more to prevent harmful behaviors.

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“They have far more work to do to halt sexual assault and harassment,” Austin wrote. “Data continue to suggest that the occurrence of these crimes is trending upward. That is disturbing and unacceptable. It endangers our teammates and degrades our readiness.”

One of the findings in the report released on Thursday is that the idea of a “zero tolerance” policy is “at odds with perceived lack of accountability through the military justice process and other means to address inappropriate behaviors," while also referencing a problematic culture that includes bullying, hazing, and isolation.

In the memo, Austin called for the leader of each military department to provide him with a plan of action by Oct. 31, 2023, that encompasses the implementation of the immediate-term recommendations, which include allowing cadets and midshipmen the time and privacy to seek mental healthcare from professionals and to encourage the use of such resources. Another immediate recommendation is to expedite the hiring of prevention personnel.

Austin directed officials to conduct OSIEs at the military service academies back in March after concerning findings surfaced from a Department of Defense survey on unwanted sexual contact at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, the Air Force Academy in Colorado, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York.

An estimated 21.4% of women and 4.4% of men cadets and midshipmen experienced unwanted sexual contact during the 2021-2022 academic year, according to the report released in March, both of which represent highs that neither sex had reached dating back to 2006 when they started doing the survey.

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"So, unfortunately, this year's report shows a significant increase in sexual assault prevalence at the military service academies. Our numbers indicate that this is the highest sexual assault estimated prevalence rate for both women and men at the military service academies since the department started measuring this in 2006," Beth Foster, the executive director of the Office of Force Resiliency, said at the time. "These numbers are extremely disappointing and upsetting. I mean, there's really no other way to see it."

DOD estimated that 1,136 students at military institutions were the victims of unwanted sexual contact during the 2022 school year, while only 155 individuals reported such an incident, which is up from 131 the previous year.