Service Women's Action Network (SWAN)
P.O. Box 1758
New York, NY 10156-1758
www.servicewomen.org
212-683-0015 X324 (phone)
[email protected]
By Brittany L. Stalsburg
Military Sexual Trauma
The Facts
Doonesbury © 2008 G.B. Trudeau. Reprinted by permission of Universal Uclick. All rights reserved.
The Department of Defense defines Military Sexual Trauma (MST) as rape, sexual assault,
and sexual harassment. Even by conservative standards, MST can be considered an
epidemic. While MST affects both men and women in uniform, servicewomen are at much
higher risk for sexual assault and harassment. MST often leads to debilitating conditions
such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and major depression. MST is a systemic
problem exacerbated by inadequate enforcement of military law and equal opportunity policy
as well as an institutional failure to protect victims from retribution.
Statistics:
Although under-reporting of MST is rampant, estimates of the prevalence of MST are
alarming:
* While 1 in 6 civilian women experience sexual assault, for military women this
number climbs to approximately 1 in 31
* 3,230 military sexual assaults were reported in 2009, which represents an
increase of 11% from fiscal year 2008. 163 sexual assaults were reported in Iraq
and Afghanistan in 20082
1
Sadler et al. 2003. “Factors Associated With Women’s Risk of Rape in the Military Environment.”
American Journal of Industrial Medicine 43:262-273.
* 79% of women serving in the military since Vietnam reported experiences of
sexual harassment3
* In a study of a sample of veterans who were seeking VA disability benefits for
PTSD, 71% of women and 4% of men reported an in-service sexual assault. For
men, the assault was more likely to occur while out of service; for women, the
opposite was true4
* Sexual assaults that occur in the military are often not isolated incidents and
may involve more than one perpetrator—37% of women veterans report being
raped at least twice, and 14% report experiences of gang rape5
* Some evidence suggests that black women in the military are more likely to
experience more severe forms of harassment compared to their white women
counterparts, including unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion6
•
Barriers to Justice
Military Culture:
The dynamics of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment that occur in the military are
different than in civilian life. MST triggers intense feelings of betrayal in survivors as it upsets
deeply held belief systems about loyalty to fellow servicemembers and respect for chain of
command. In this way, MST is similar to incest, as perpetrators and victims are akin to family
members.
Perpetrators of MST often wield control over the victim, especially since perpetrators are
likely to outrank the victims. If the perpetrators are in the victims’ chain of command,
reporting the incident can seem impossible. Victims of MST often feel that they need to
make a choice between their military career and seeking justice for their trauma.
Victims are often at risk of retaliation by perpetrators, and commanders often fail to enforce
the protection of those who report MST. Commanders and fellow servicemembers may
blame the victim for ruining a “good soldier’s reputation” or try to convince the victim that
what happened was “no big deal” and not worth causing conflict in the unit.
Finally, unlike in civilian life, victims of MST may not simply quit their job or even sue their
employers. If commanders fail to enforce sexual assault and equal opportunity policy, MST
2
Department of Defense, “Fiscal Year 2009 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military.” Available:
www.sapr.mil; Erin Mulhall. 2009. “Women Warriors: Supporting She ‘Who Has Borne the Battle.’” Iraq
and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
3
Sadler et al. 2003. “Factors Associated With Women’s Risk of Rape in the Military Environment.”
American Journal of Industrial Medicine 43:262-273.
4
Murdoch et al. 2004. “Prevalence of In-Service and Post-Service Sexual Assault among Combat and
Noncombat Veterans Applying for Department of Veterans Affairs Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Disability
Benefits.” Military Medicine 169 (5):392-395.
5
Sadler et al. 2003. “Factors Associated With Women’s Risk of Rape in the Military Environment.”
American Journal of Industrial Medicine 43:262-273.
6
Buchana et al. 2008. “Comparing Sexual Harassment Subtypes among Black and White Women by
Military Rank: Double Jeopardy, the Jezebel, and the Cult of True Womanhood.” Psychology of Women
Quarterly 32 (4):347-361.
survivors are left with few options for redress and are often forced to accept their situation
and live in fear of further harassment or abuse.
Under-reporting:
Experiences of MST are widely under-reported, most often because of shame or fear of
stigmatization and/or retribution. Moreover, servicemembers have the compounded fear of
losing their jobs or ruining their reputations as a result of reporting sexual assault or
harassment.7 Finally, many women experience the guilt and stigma of ruining a fellow
serviceman’s career by reporting him.
Among a sample of servicewomen raped in the military, an alarming 75% did not report the
incident. Of those who did not report the assault, one-third said they did not know how to
make the report while 20% said they thought rape is to be “expected” in the military.8
Clearly, military women need more information about their rights and procedures for
redress.
Reporting Procedures and Prosecutions:
Reporting assaults anonymously is almost impossible for victims of MST. Although the
Department of Defense recently introduced a “restricted” reporting option that allows MST
victims to access medical treatment for assault but not pursue legal action against the
perpetrator, information such as rank, service branch, gender, age, race, and information
about the assault is required in order to submit a report. Anonymity, then, is unlikely to be
preserved.
Also, evidence documenting the assault, including rape kits, is kept by the military for only
one year, further compounding access to justice. These obstacles lead to extremely low
prosecutorial rates—although 40% of sex offenders are prosecuted in the civilian world, only
7
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). 2008. “Actions Needed to Strengthen Implementation
and Oversight of DoD’s and the Coast Guard’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Programs.”
8
Sadler et al. 2003. “Factors Associated With Women’s Risk of Rape in the Military Environment.”
American Journal of Industrial Medicine 43:262-273.
8% of perpetrators are prosecuted in the military. 9 Furthermore, unlike their civilian
counterparts, victims of sexual harassment in the military are not permitted to sue their
employers because Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not apply to the armed forces. 10
•
Consequences of MST
MST is associated with a range of health and economic consequences, many of which
affect women and men differently. Mental health conditions resulting from MST are often
long-term and survivors require immediate, adequate treatment for full recovery.
Furthermore, the stress and depression that usually follow experiences of MST affect
survivors’ economic stability.
Health issues:
-- MST is the primary causal factor of PTSD for women, whereas combat experience is the
strongest predictor of PTSD for men.11
--Female survivors of MST experience higher levels of depression than their male
counterparts and are also more likely to develop eating disorders.12
Economic Consequences:
--MST and its attendant consequences are often risk factors for homelessness among
women veterans. 40% of homeless women veterans have reported experiences of sexual
assault in the military. 13
--The stress, depression, and other mental health issues that accompany MST make it more
likely that survivors will experience high rates of substance abuse and will have difficulty
finding work after discharge from the military. 14
9
See Erin Mulhall. 2009. “Women Warriors: Supporting She ‘Who Has Borne the Battle.’” Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America.
10
Rachel Natelson. 2009. “A Case for Federal Oversight of Military Sexual Harassment.” Journal of
Poverty, Law, and Policy 43 (5/6):277-281.
11
Street et al. 2008. “Sexual harassment and assault experienced by reservists during military service:
Prevalence and health correlates.” Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development 45: 409-420.
Kang et al. 2005. “The role of sexual assault on the risk of PTSD among Gulf War veterans.” Annals of
Epidemiology 15(3):191-195.
12
Ibid
13
Williamson, Vanessa and Erin Mulhall. 2009. “Invisible Wounds: Psychological and Neurological
Injuries Confront a New Generation of Veterans.” New York: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
14
Skinner et al. 2000. “The Prevalence of Military Sexual Assault Among Female Veterans’
Administration Outpatients.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence 15 (3):291-310.
•
Problems with accessing benefits and treatment
Claims:
Veterans who suffer from health conditions resulting from MST face enormous obstacles
when applying for disability compensation from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
Rejection by the VBA often re-triggers a veteran’s sense of helplessness and betrayal,
leading to further trauma and illness. Institutional bias in favor of claimants with combat
experience effectively ignores women with PTSD that resulted from MST. Because
claimants are required to identify a specific trigger that caused PTSD, combined with the
fact that MST often goes unreported, survivors are at a severe disadvantage in proving the
origin of their trauma, despite diagnoses of PTSD by VA health professionals. Furthermore,
under DOD policy, sexual harassment reports are retained on file for only two years, further
compounding veterans’ ability to substantiate the origin of their trauma.
Perceptions of Veterans Affairs Health Care:
Survivors of MST need treatment for both their physical and psychological wounds that are
directly and indirectly caused by their assault. The sensitive nature of MST requires a
welcoming, safe space for women to receive treatment. The male bias of the VA health
system, however, discourages women from seeking treatment and also limits the quality of
care they do receive.
--Women are generally less likely to use Veterans Health Administration (VHA) services and
be satisfied with the care they receive compared to men. 15
--MST survivors who have used VHA services report experiencing a “second victimization”
while under care, often reporting increased rates of depression and post traumatic stress
disorder.16
15
Kelly et al. 2008. “Effects of Military Trauma Exposure on Women Veterans’ Use and Perceptions of
Veterans Health Administration Care.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 23 (6):741-747.
--Female MST survivors who have used VHA services reported a lower quality of care and
dissatisfaction with VHA services compared to women using outside care. 17
--Women report problems accessing female-specific services and also perceive that most
VHA services are geared towards men.18
--Inadequate dissemination of knowledge regarding how to navigate the complex VHA
service system precludes some women from seeking care.
--Women are less likely to receive a PTSD diagnosis compared to men, most likely because
PTSD is strongly associated with combat experience.19
•
What SWAN Does
--SWAN provides peer support, counseling referrals, and legal referrals to both male and
female veterans who have experienced MST.
--SWAN’s policy work on MST includes a national campaign to educate policymakers, the
media, health professionals, and non-profit organizations about the causes and
consequences of MST.
--SWAN organizes workshops and retreats to help MST survivors heal from their trauma in
safe and supportive settings.
16
Campbell and Raja. 2005. “The Sexual Assault and Secondary Victimization of Female Veterans: HelpSeeking Experiences with Military and Civilian Social Systems.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 29 (1):
97-106.
17
Kelly et al. 2008. “Effects of Military Trauma Exposure on Women Veterans’ Use and Perceptions of
Veterans Health Administration Care.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 23 (6):741-747.
18
Ibid.
19
Grossman et al. 1997. “Underdiagnosis of PTSD and substance abuse disorders in hospitalized female
veterans.” Psychiatric Services 48:393-395.