Sexual Trauma In The Military

Military Sexual Trauma and PTSD Sexual harassment and sexual abuse has been a reoccurring theme in the military. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) defines military sexual trauma (MST) as “psychological trauma…result(ing) from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the Veteran was serving on active duty or active duty for training” (38 USC § 1720D; Monteith, Bahraini, Matarazzo, Soberay, & Smith, 2016). Although the military offers services to Veterans that have suffered MST, victims still feel reluctant to report the issue or seek services. Most of these cases go unreported because the victim fears that they will be reprimanded, shunned by their peers, and may even
There are many factors that contribute to their unwillingness to report. One of those factors is that victims believe that the military does not respond supportively to these situations. Monteith et al. (2016) examined the perceptions of institutional betrayal among Veterans exposed to MST. They also examined whether their perceptions of institutional betrayal are associated with symptoms of PTSD, depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempt after MST. Institutional betrayal is defined refers to the “failure of an institution to prevent or respond supportively to wrongdoings committed by individuals within the context of the institution (Monteith et al., 2016). There were 49 participants in their sample. Of those 49, 31 were women and 18 were men. The sample was racially diverse (53.1% caucasian, 28.6% African American, 14.3% Multicultural, and 4% Native American). The participants were recruited through public announcements and flyers at community events and VA health facilities. Monteith et al. (2016) assessed perceptions of institutional betrayal regarding MST by using the Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire, Version 2 (IBQ2). The IBQ2 provided participants with perceptions of institutional betrayal regarding MST. Participants were able to answer 1 (yes) or 0 (no) to each perception listed (e.g. “Making it difficult to report the experience”). Monteith et al.
They believe that the military creates an environment that allows MST to be common and they do not take appropriate measures to prevent it. This study did not provide a direct relationship between MST and PTSD symptoms, rather it provided a significant association between perceived institutional betrayal and PTSD symptoms. It is still important to note that 98% of the participants indicated that they had experienced at least one indicator of perceived institutional betrayal associated with MST. The following study will test a more direct association between MST and