Military sexual assault in the military rose to the forefront of the public's attention in the 1990's after the Tailhook scandal in La Vegas where 83 women and 7 men were sexually assaulted at a military conference by over 100 Navy and Marine Corps officers. In this thesis, I analyze media coverage of the Tailhook scandal as well as accounts from victims in an attempt to see how media constructs of the scandal not only differ from victim accounts but also shape the overall perception of the issue. I collected data from a sample of news articles from The New York Times newspaper and Newsweek magazine as well as a collection of official reports from the Department of Defense regarding military sexual assault and the official investigation report of the Tailhook incident. By analyzing the narrative of these accounts I hope to unveil the power that the media holds in regard to how society understands and reacts toward military sexual assault and that we, as a society, need to hold this institution accountable to not vilify victims, but encourage their empowerment to report sexual assault.
