Military Sexual Trauma (MST)
By Ellen Kozel
What is Military Sexual Trauma (MST)? It can be sexual harassment or sexual assault that happens while you’re in the military. The fallacy is that many people think that this is strictly something that happens to women. It can be man to women, women to women, women to man or man to man.
If you as a female feel you have MST in one form or another, let me assure you that I know gay men that I have met that were sexually abused by heterosexual males. So this is an issue that covers all military personnel.
MST can happen during war, peace or training. Your experience may cause you to feel fear, shame, anger, embarrassment or guilt. You may feel it hard to place your trust in people.
MST can also cause physical effects to an individual to include headaches, chronic fatigue, diarrhea or gynecological problems.
Some problems associated with MST include:
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Disturbing memories or nightmares
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Difficulty feeling safe
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Feelings of depression or numbness
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Problems with alcohol or other drugs
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Feeling isolated from other people
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Problems with anger or irritability
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Problems with sleep
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Physical health problems
People can recover from trauma. To help Veterans do this, VA provides free, confidential counseling and treatment for mental and physical health conditions related to experiences of MST. You do not need to be service-connected and may be able to receive this benefit even if you are not eligible for other VA care. You do not need to have reported the incidents when they happened or have other documentation that they occurred.
Every VA facility has a designated MST Coordinator who serves as a contact person for MST-related issues. Every VA facility has providers knowledgeable about treatment for the after effects of MST. To accommodate Veterans who do not feel comfortable in mixed-gender treatment settings, some facilities throughout VA have separate programs for men and women. All residential and inpatient MST programs have separate sleeping areas for men and women. Service connection or disability compensation is not required to receive free treatment for conditions resulting from MST.