Number of reports of sexual assault in US armed forces on the decrease

The number of sexual assaults in US armed forces dropped last year (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The number of sexual assaults reported across the US military dropped by nearly 4% last year, fuelled by a significant drop in the number of cases in the army, it has been revealed.

It was the second year in a row with a decrease, reversing a troubling trend that has plagued the US Defence Department for more than a decade.