WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated Press. Both are dramatic reversals of what has been a growing problem in recent years.

More than 29,000 active-duty service members said in the survey that they had unwanted sexual contact during the previous year, compared with nearly 36,000 in the 2021 survey, according to several defense officials. The decrease is the first in eight years.

At the same time, 8,515 sexual assaults were reported last year involving members of the U.S. military, a decrease from 8,942 in 2022. And officials said the U.S. military academies also saw fewer reported sexual assaults in the school year that ended last spring versus the previous year.

Senior defense officials said the assault numbers are still far too high and there is much more work to do, but they expressed cautious optimism that the military could be turning a corner, with help from an array of new programs and increased personnel. Sexual assault reports in the military have gone up for much of the last decade, except for a tiny decrease in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not been publicly released.

While it’s difficult to point to any one reason for the recent decreases, the Defense Department has been making a series of changes over the past year that officials say may be contributing to the shift. The services are using an infusion of more than $1 billion in the last two budgets to improve programs and hire up to 2,500 personnel as part of a new “prevention workforce” and place them at military installations around the world. So far, more than 1,000 have been hired.

The Pentagon releases a report every year on the number of sexual assaults reported by or about troops. But because sexual assault is a highly underreported crime, the department does a confidential survey every two years to get a clearer picture of the problem.

The data for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 also suggests that a greater percentage of service members came forward to report sexual assaults, which has been a key goal for the Defense Department. About 25% of those who said on the survey that they had faced unwanted sexual contact reported it last year, compared with 20% in 2021, according to defense officials and documents reviewed by the AP.

Defense officials have long argued that an increase in reported assaults is a positive trend because so many people are reluctant to report them, both in the military and in society as a whole. Greater reporting, they say, shows there is more confidence in the reporting system and greater comfort with the support for victims, and results in a growing number of offenders being held accountable.

But the Pentagon and the military services also have come under persistent criticism and pressure from members of Congress to reduce sexual assaults and harassment in the military. Service leaders and lawmakers have all argued that the sexual assaults and harassment contribute to the military’s struggles to meet recruiting goals.

Alarmed members of Congress have enacted a number of changes, including a new prosecution system that uses independent lawyers. Lawmakers argued that some commanders failed to take victims’ complaints seriously or tried to protect those in their units who faced accusations, making victims reluctant to come forward.

The services have long worked to develop programs to prevent sexual assaults, encourage reporting and bolster confidence in the system. The Army, for example, has a new training program for soldiers when they report to their first duty station that shows service members acting out dangerous situations and teaches troops how to respond.

The number of reported sexual assaults decreased across all the military services, which is a marked improvement over the 2022 fiscal year, when the number of sexual assaults in the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all shot up significantly. A 9% drop in Army reports in 2022 offset the increases in the other branches so that there was an uptick of about 1% for the whole military. The Army is the largest military service.

According to officials, the number of sexual assault reported in the Army decreased from 3,718 in 2022 to 3,507 last year, while the Navy went from 2,052 to 1,942 and the Air Force from 1,928 to 1,838. The Marine Corps had the smallest decline, going from 1,244 to 1,228.

Included in the 8,515 total were 541 service members who reported an assault that occurred before they entered the military and 612 civilians who said they were assaulted by a member of the military.

At the military academies, the number of assaults dipped from 155 in 2022 to 124 in the 2023 school year. Service commanders are still working, however, to address what was a dramatic spike in 2022.

The latest survey also showed that nearly a quarter of all active-duty women said they’d faced sexual harassment, a decrease from the 28.6% in 2021.

One troubling area continues to be female service members’ satisfaction with the help they get when they make a complaint and their overall trust in the system and their leaders.

While a large percentage of victims seek out sexual assault response staff, fewer than 70% are happy with the services they get. And that hasn’t changed much over the past several years. Roughly the same percentage says they trust the military to respect and protect them and their privacy.

Officials said the hiring of more permanent, full-time workers will help improve that process.

A Guatemalan court ordered the release Wednesday of journalist José Rubén Zamora, jailed for nearly two years on money laundering charges.

Zamora, the 67-year-old founder of El Periodico newspaper, was sentenced to six years in prison last June for alleged money laundering. But that conviction and sentence were overturned by another court and a new trial ordered.

PROSECUTORS IN GUATEMALA ASK COURT TO LIFT PRESIDENT-ELECT’S IMMUNITY; OAS CITES ‘COUP ATTEMPT’

For nearly two years, he has been kept in jail.

But on Wednesday, a judge ruled that there was no longer justification to keep him in jail, noting that he was not considered a flight risk or a threat to the investigation. Zamora will spend the rest of his time before a new trial on a conditional release.

He was ordered to post a bond of nearly $4,800.

“During my entire life I have been the victim of attacks, abductions, aggressions for the work that I do,” Zamora said during Wednesday’s hearing.

Cristina Gómez, his defense attorney, said that his detention was arbitrary.

Guatemala’s former human rights ombudsman Jorge Duque agreed to guarantee Zamora’s appearance at future hearings. “It is the least I can do,” Duque said. “I know him and I know that he will continue facing the process against him.”

Press freedom groups had decried his prosecution as politically motivated.

El Periodico published numerous investigations critical of former President Alejandro Giammattei.

The charges stemmed from Zamora, 66, asking a friend to deposit a $38,000 donation to keep the newspaper going rather than depositing it himself. Zamora has said he did so because the donor did not want to be identified supporting an outlet in the sights of Giammattei.

The foundation of Nobel Prize winning writer Gabriel García Márquez awarded its excellence in journalism prize to Zamora on Tuesday.

World leaders have condemned an attack on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is in a “life-threatening condition” after being shot.

The prime minister was shot “multiple times” on Wednesday in an “assassination attempt”, a statement on his official social media page said.

The 59-year-old leader was shot in the abdomen in the central town of Handlova. Police sealed off the scene, and a suspect has been detained, according to local media reports.

Here are some of the global reactions:

United States President Joe Biden

Biden condemned the shooting as a “horrific act of violence”, adding that he and first lady Jill Biden “are praying for a swift recovery, and our thoughts are with his family and the people of Slovakia”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Putin said the attack was a “monstrous crime”.

“There can be no justification for this monstrous crime. I know Robert Fico as a courageous and strong-minded man. I very much hope that these qualities will help him to survive this difficult situation,” Putin said.

The Russian leader wished Fico “a speedy and full recovery”.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Guterres decried the “shocking attack carried out today against the prime minister of Slovakia”, his office said.

Guterres’s “thoughts are with the prime minister and his loved ones at this difficult moment”, his spokesman Farhan Haq said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

“I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family,” von der Leyen said.

French President Emmanuel Macron

Macron said on social media that he was “shocked” by the attack.

“Shocked by the shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. I strongly condemn this attack,” he said. “My thoughts and solidarity are with him, his family and the people of Slovakia.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Scholz decried the “cowardly” attack and denounced “violence” in European politics.

“I am deeply shocked by the news of the cowardly attack on Slovakian Prime Minister Fico,” Scholz said.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg

Stoltenberg said his thoughts were with Fico and the people of Slovakia.

“I wish him strength for a speedy recovery. My thoughts are with Robert Fico, his loved ones and the people of Slovakia,” he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Meloni decried the attack and “all forms of violence” on “democracy and freedom”.

“I learned with deep shock the news of the cowardly attack,” Meloni said in a statement. She also stressed her government’s “strongest condemnation of all forms of violence and attacks on the cardinal principles of democracy and freedom”.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The ministry said in a statement that it “condemns the assassination attempt against the prime minister of the Slovak Republic” and “wishes [him] good health and a speedy recovery”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Orban decried the “heinous” attack against Fico.

“I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery! God bless him and his country!” Orban said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

Vucic said Fico was a “great friend” and he would pray for his health.

“I am shocked by the attempted assassination of Robert Fico, a great friend to me and to Serbia. Dear friend, I pray for you and for your health,” Vucic said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez

Sanchez said he was “horrified” by the attack and “nothing can every justify violence”.

“Horrified and outraged at the attack on the Slovak Prime Minister. Spain stands with Robert Fico, his family and the Slovak people at this extremely difficult time. Nothing can ever justify violence,” he wrote on social media.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer

Nehammer said he was shocked at the attack and warned “hatred and violence must not take hold in our democracies”.

“The attempt on the life of my Slovak colleague Robert Fico shocks me deeply. Just a few days ago we spoke on the phone and talked intensively about security issues. I wish him a speedy and complete recovery! Hatred and violence must not take hold in our democracies and must be fought with all determination!” Nehammer said on social media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy condemned the attack and warned that violence should not become normalised.

“We strongly condemn this act of violence against our neighbouring partner state’s head of government. Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form or sphere,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan “strongly” condemned “the heinous assassination attempt”.

“I extend my get-well wishes to the people and government of Slovakia on behalf of my country and nation,” Erdogan said and wished him a speedy recovery.