Sexual trauma reported by 15% of Female Veterans

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An American Tragedy of epidemic proportions

Army Times highlights lack of housing for homeless female veterans

Here are more statistics referenced in the report:

76 percent of women who’ve had previous sexual trauma reported mental health problems, 51 percent of which include some form of PTSD.

47 percent of women without a history of sexual trauma reported mental health problems, 22 percent of which include some form of PTSD.

Women with military-related sexual trauma experiences have a 59 percent higher risk of mental health problems.

One in seven female vets reported an instance of military sexual trauma.

Today is Veteran’s Day. The day we honor our veterans has been diminished by a Veterans Administration study that found that one in seven female veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seeking medical care from the VA suffered sexual trauma – everything from harassment to rape.

Female US soldiers in Ramadi, west of Baghdad.(AFP/Patrick Baz)

The report was conducted on medical records of 125,000 war veterans, both men and women, showed 15 percent of the women reported sexual trauma. That works out to nearly 2,600 veterans.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, since the study covered only a fraction of the 870,000 veterans who have fought – and none still on active duty.

According to VA studies “estimated 8,000 female vets are homeless in the country.”

CNN reported that Rep. Jane Harman, D-California, spoke before a House panel investigating the way the military handles reports of sexual assault.

She said she recently visited a Veterans Affairs hospital in the Los Angeles area, where women told her horror stories of being raped in the military.

“My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41 percent of the female veterans seen there say they were victims of sexual assault while serving in the military,” said Harman, who has long sought better protection of women in the military.

“Twenty-nine percent say they were raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and downward spirals many of their lives have taken since.

“We have an epidemic here,” she said. “Women serving in the U.S. military today are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.”

The Army Times reported on the lack of “enough housing for homeless veterans.” To read this report click here.

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