What is military sexual trauma Military sexual trauma (mst) refers to any sexual harassment or sexual assault experienced by military service members It encompasses behaviors such as unwanted sexual advances, threats. The first time army veteran and dav member penni lo’vette brown learned she could get health care through the department of veterans affairs was by happenstance After reading a story in dav magazine, she reached out to dav for help with a va benefits claim for ptsd related to military sexual trauma On the back of lisa szafaryn garcia’s car, raised silver lettering proclaims, “female veteran
Special edition.” it took more than four decades for garcia to make such a proud and public declaration. Discover how navy veteran jennifer williams received justice for military sexual trauma, thanks to a dav benefits advocate. The journey to mental wellness shows that key factors, including high rates of military sexual trauma and intimate partner violence, substance use disorders and reproductive health challenges, put women veterans at higher risk for suicide. The va reports that about 1 in 3 women and 1 in 50 men using the va say they have experienced instances of mst, which can also result in prolonged traumatic stress Being exposed to events such as bombings, mass casualties or natural disasters can have an emotional impact on service members and veterans. Thank you for holding this important hearing to discuss the claims process for military sexual trauma (mst), and inviting me to share my experience both as an advocate for veterans through dav—disabled american veterans—and as an mst survivor myself
