An article recently posted on the
Kaiser Health News website discusses the prevalence of military sexual trauma (MST) among young female veterans. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) defines MST as psychological trauma that occurred while the veteran was serving on active duty or active duty for training, which, according to a VA mental health professional, resulted from:
- physical assault of a sexual nature,
- battery of a sexual nature, or
- sexual harassment.
According to the article, the VA records show that at least one in five female Iraq and Afghanistan veterans has experienced MST. In 2012, however, the Department of Defense estimated that only about 13% of MST cases were reported. The underreporting of military-related sexual assaults may be attributed to the:
- fear of allegations being met with skepticism and possible retaliation,
- difficulty of proving sexual assault, and
- claims being complicated and time-consuming.
Some lawmakers have started to address this issue. In the 2013 legislative session, Maine passed a law,
S.P. 562 – L.D. 1504, requiring an assessment to determine if state law allows for the adequate prosecution of sexual assault and proper treatment of military sexual assault victims.
Health issues associated with MST include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, eating disorders, hypervigilance, and insomnia. Per the article, in 2010 the VA spent $872 million on sexual assault related health care. However, some MST victims find the treatment inadequate and seek their own.
