Military sexual trauma

Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is rape, other sexual assault or sexual harassment that occurs during military service. The term military sexual trauma is used by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). While sexual assault within the military is monitored by the Department of Defense (DOD) and Sexual Assault and Prevention Response Office (SAPRO) (see sexual assault in the United States military), MST is more broadly defined and is monitored within the DVA by the Military Sexual Trauma Support Team.

Description

MST may include any sexual activity performed against one's will, either through physical force, threats of negative consequences, implied promotion, promises of favored treatment, or sex without consent due to intoxication etc. Other events that may be categorized as MST may include: unwanted sexual contact, threatening, offensive remarks and unwelcome sexual advances.[1]

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides medical and mental health services free of charge to enrolled Veterans who report MST[2] and has implemented universal screening for MST among all Veterans receiving VA health care.

Prevalence

It is widely believed that the rates of sexual trauma are underreported in both the military and the Veterans Administration (VA),[3] In 2007, the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) reported rates of MST were approximately 22% among female Veterans and 1.2% among male Veterans.[4]

In 2010, AJPH reported MST rates among U.S. Veterans returning from the recent wars in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF) to be 15.1% among female Veterans and 0.7% among male Veterans.[5]

In 2014 196 female veterans who had deployed to OIF and/or OEF were interviewed and 41% of them reported experiencing MST. [6] In April 2014, The Service Women's Action Network and Vietnam Veterans of America submitted a legal filing to the US Court of Appeals which claimed that:[7]

Widespread rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment plague the military, threatening the strength of the armed forces, undermining national security, and destroying the lives of survivors and their families. Nearly one in every three women is raped during her service and more than half experience unwanted sexual contact.

Moreover, of the 26,000 service members who reported unwanted sexual contact in 2011-12, fifty-two percent were men. These assaults often result in devastating, long-term psychological injuries, most notably Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ('PTSD'). Sexual violence correlates with PTSD more highly than any other trauma, including combat.

Medical and mental health conditions

A number of medical and mental health conditions have been found to be related to the experience of military sexual trauma. Studies have found in large samples of Veterans using VHA services that Veterans who report MST are at risk for a number of mental health and physical health diagnoses, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.[4][5] Additionally, one recent research study examined rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and sexual dysfunctions about OEF/OIF Veterans using VHA services, finding that a positive screen for MST was associated with being more likely to have a number of STIs and sexual dysfunctions among both men and women.[8]

Related legislation

On June 26, 2014, Rep. Dina Titus (D, NV-1) introduced into the United States House of Representatives the bill To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide veterans with counseling and treatment for sexual trauma that occurred during inactive duty training (H.R. 2527; 113th Congress). The bill would extend a VA program of counseling and care and services for veterans for military sexual trauma that occurred during active duty or active duty for training to include veterans who experienced such trauma during inactive duty training.[9] The bill would alter current law, which allows access to such counseling only to active duty members of the military, so that members of the Reserves and National Guard would be eligible.[10] The Wounded Warrior Project strongly supported the bill, but pointed out a number of additional related challenges and problems that needed to be solved to improve the treatment of MST related conditions in veterans.[11] The WWP did a study of its alumni and found that "almost half of the respondents indicated accessing care through VA for MST related conditions was 'Very difficult'. And of those who did not seek VA care, 41% did not know they were eligible for such care."[11] The WWP also testified that in addition to expanding access to MST care, the VA needed to improve care itself, because veterans report "inadequate screening, providers who were either insensitive or lacked needed expertise, and facilities ill-equipped to appropriately care for MST survivors."[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Unknown author. "Military Sexual Trauma". US Dept of Veteran Affairs. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Military Sexual Trauma Program". Archived from the original on 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
  3. ↑ Turchik, J. & Wilson, S. Sexual assault in the military: A review of the literature and recommendations for the future. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 267-277
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kimerling R, Gima K, Smith MW, Street A, & Frayne S. (2007). The Veterans Health Administration and military sexual trauma. American Journal of Public Health, 97(12), 2160-2166.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kimerling R, Street AE, Pavao J, Smith M, Cronkite R, Holmes TH, et al. (2010). Military-related sexual trauma among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. American Journal of Public Health, 100(8), 1409-1412.
  6. ↑ Yaeger, D; Himmelfarb, N; Cammack, A; Mintz, J (2014). "DSM-IV diagnosed posttraumatic stress disorder in women veterans with and without military sexual trauma". Journal of General Internal Medicine 21 (3): S65-S69.
  7. ↑ Abbott, Ryan (5 May 2014). "Vets Claim Nearly 1 in 3 Women Are Raped During Military Service". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Turchik, J., Pavao, J., Nazarian, D., Iqbal, S., McLean, C., & Kimerling, R. (2012). Sexually transmitted infections and sexual dysfunctions among newly returned veterans with and without military sexual trauma. International Journal of Sexual Health, 24, 45-59.
  9. ↑ "H.R. 2527 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Neiweem, Christopher J. (27 March 2014). "Submission for the Record of VetsFirst". House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Submission for the Record of Wounded Warrior Project". House Committee on Veterans Affairs. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

External links