Trauma In Military Women Essay

Trauma is often defined as an exposure to a situation in which a person is confronted with an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to self or others’ physical well-being (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). There are several types of trauma in which people encountered include sexual abuse, physical, or sexual assault, domestic violence, natural disasters and or crisis. (James & Gilliland, 2001). Traumatic events can have long or short term effects on one’s life. Seeking treatment is beneficial in order to overcome symptoms that can lead to PTSD. This paper will discuss factors that contribute to the sexual abuse of women within the military, effects of sexual abuse on military women, barriers

The screenings provided by VHD are not anonymous. “Women are asked to give their rank, gender, age, race and branch of service when submitting an assault report” (SWAN, 2010). This makes reporting the incident very difficult for these women to report without being recognized. This article written by Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and author, Chasing Ghosts: Failures and Facades in Iraq: A Soldier’s Perspective. In the article, “Sexual Assault and the Military,” It was reported that almost one-third of women veterans say they were sexually assaulted while in the military (In the general population, one out of every six American women has been a victim of a sexual assault.) Additionally, already, 15 % of female Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have gone to the VA for care have tested positive for Military Sexual Trauma. But even these troubling figures may not be telling the whole story; experts estimate that half of all sexual assaults go unreported. Lastly, Paul reports that special DOD "task force" on sexual assault in the military was created almost 4 years ago, however these programs haven’t been