Treating the Wounds of Military Sexual Trauma

One in five women screened by the Department of Veterans Affairs reports having experienced severe sexual harassment, attempted assault or rape during military service. VA officials believe the number of unreported incidents makes the actual percentage of women who have suffered military sexual trauma — also known as MST — significantly higher.

While MST is not itself a diagnosis, VA officials say the experience can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, an anxiety disorder that can cause flashbacks, fear and isolation. As the number of women seeking help from the VA health system has grown — female patients nationwide doubled to more than 310,000 from 2000 to 2010 — so has the incidence of PTSD related to sexual harassment or attacks.

Dr. Patricia M. Hayes, the VA's national director of women's health, likens military sexual trauma to incest. "In the military, you rely on people in your unit to save your life, to serve together, to defend our country against the enemy," she said. "If some serious event like a sexual assault occurs, you've been betrayed by your unit and by the people that you've lived with and served with. "So there are additional burdens of trauma that can occur because it occurred while in the military. And because you can't escape, except by going AWOL, you're living it 24-7."

The VA has military sexual trauma coordinators at each of its medical sites, and the agency has funded and conducted research on effective treatments...