CIA Vows to Improve Response to Employee Sexual Assault Claims After Internal Review

The CIA's seal at headquarters in Langley, Va., on April 13, 2016. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has pledged to improve how it deals with sexual assault and harassment reports after an internal review found it had previously mishandled such allegations.

In a statement published on June 2, CIA Director William Burns said that the agency has expanded the resources available to those who have witnessed or been victims of sexual assault, sexual harassment, discrimination, and other forms of harassment. He added that the agency has also increased its capacity to address such reports from employees.

Employees at the agency can now report sexual assault confidentially or “pursue investigative services and the assistance of law enforcement.”

The CIA has also established the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Office (SHARP) which the director said is responsible for receiving all allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

The agency now also has an interim Special Victim Investigator (SVI) who works with SHARP to facilitate investigations into such claims, including referrals to the appropriate law enforcement entity and is in the process of hiring a permanent SVI.

Additionally, the CIA  has established the Resolution Office, which Mr. Burns said is its “focal point for the resolution of harassment, grievances, and other workplace conflicts.”

The steps the agency has taken to strengthen its response to sexual assault and harassment reports align with recommendations made by its Inspector General Robin Ashton in a recent report, the CIA director noted.

Results of Internal Review

That report is the result of an internal review conducted at the intelligence agency at the direction of the Senate Intelligence Committee last year after a whistleblower claimed they had been “physically attacked and sexually assaulted at CIA headquarters.”

In April of this year, the bipartisan Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, which has been probing the CIA’s handling of sexual assault cases, found the agency failed to handle such allegations in a professional manner and failed to punish alleged perpetrators.

During its investigation, the Select Committee reviewed multiple materials, including more than 4,000 pages that were handed in by the CIA, and spoke with over two dozen individuals.

The Select Committee found that there was “confusion and disorder” in the process of reporting sexual assault and harassment at the intelligence agency and that victims were “aware of little to no accountability or punishment for the perpetrators of the assaults or harassment often because of an inadequate investigatory process.”

Lawmakers with the Select Committee found that victims were deterred from coming forward because they were not awarded anonymity and were “unable to seek confidential assistance.”

The Select Committee also found that there was “ineffective training for employees on how to identify and report cases of sexual assault and harassment,” and an inconsistent approach and lack of timely coordination between law enforcement over such allegations.

The committee said the results of its investigation helped with creating the provisions in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.

In the CIA’s June 2 statement, Mr. Burns said the agency has been working closely with Congress and has shared with its oversight committees the progress the agency has made, including implementing key provisions of the act.

He added that senior CIA leadership would continue to build on the reforms the agency has already made.

“I take the issue of sexual harassment and sexual assault extremely seriously. We must get this right,” Mr. Burns said. “We will continue to act quickly and systematically to further reinforce the safe, healthy, and respectful workplace that all of you deserve.”

Savannah Hulsey Pointer contributed to this report.