Sexual assault in the U.S. military has decreased in the last 2 years

The Pentagon released an annual report Friday that showed sexual assaults in the U.S. military are on the decline.

Officials announced a 27 percent drop in cases of "unwanted sexual contact," with an estimated 18,900 cases in 2014, compared with 26,000 in 2012, according to survey data. The report also noted that while the number of assaults has decreased, the number of people actually reporting the cases has increased.

The report noted that 6,131 people reported a military sexual assault in 2014, an 11 percent increase from the number of reported cases in 2013. Reuters notes that the numbers prove troops are "more confident about reporting the crime."

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A 2014 RAND military workplace survey found that assaults on men were more likely to take place in the workplace, without alcohol, while assaults of women more often occurred outside the workplace and involved alcohol.

The Pentagon recognized that while the estimated number of assaults are on the decline, there's still more work to be done. "That's clearly far, far too many," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said of the assault estimates.