“Finding Your Path to Healing.”
That’s the message the Department of Veterans Affairs hopes to convey to veterans who experienced military sexual trauma during April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
VA uses the term MST to refer to sexual assault or sexual harassment that occurred during military service, explained Dr. Amy Street, VA’s national director for Military Sexual Trauma, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in the Veterans Health Administration.
“It can include sexual harassment, it can include sexual assault, any kind of unwanted experience during military service,” she said.
Street said that MST can be a life-changing experience.
“Survivors are resilient, but also can experience long-term consequences,” she said. “Some people might feel very distressed immediately following the experience, but others might have a delayed reaction even years later.”
Street said recovering from MST does not take the same path for survivors.
“Some people recover without help, others continue to have difficulties over time or strong reactions to certain situations. Some may have profound difficulties with mental health challenges or physical health challenges related to the event or struggles with school or work or family relationships.”
Street acknowledged that MST can be a difficult topic to talk about.
“Because of that, we really wanted to bring this forward and have open conversations about these issues and educate veterans and all of us about this experience and how it can impact us,” she said.
Street said it can be “incredibly validating” for MST survivors to have someone recognize their experience was traumatic, believe in their ability to heal and offer them tools to cope.
“That’s really what we’re trying to do with this campaign, to emphasize that every survivor’s healing journey is unique and that VA will provide support in whatever way will work best for them,” she said.
Veterans who are survivors of MST can get free care at VA medical centers nationally, even if the incident went unreported or they have no proof that it occurred, Street said.
“We do want veterans to know we believe them and also we believe in them,” she said. “We want them to find the right path for them.”
To learn more about VA’s resources for MST survivors, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.