Lauren Zapf: Changing the Dialogue For Women Vets
Female vets must be recognized as contributing members of society, with valuable abilities and talents to bring into their communities.
Female vets must be recognized as contributing members of society, with valuable abilities and talents to bring into their communities.
Would anybody enlist if they knew a court ruling had put forth, “Rape is an occupational hazard of military service.”
A sexual attack is a trigger for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Susan McCutcheon, The Director of Family Services, Women’s Mental Health and Military Sexual Trauma, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) stated, “MST is an experience, not a diagnosis. PTSD is the diagnosis.”
Enmeshed in the stories of women who have served in the military, are the accounts of sexual harassment and abuse that are starting to see the light of day. The issue of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) has consistently been swept under the rug.