Factors Associated with Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Disclosure During VA Screening Among Women Veterans

Military sexual trauma-related posttraumatic stress disorder service-connection: Characteristics of claimants and award denial across gender, race, and compared to combat trauma

“…There may have been historical and cultural factors unique to this timeframe, such as the #MeToo movement which gained substantial prominence in 2017, that uniquely impacted the filing, processing, and awarding of MST-related claims. The study sample included a substantially larger number of combat-related claims (102,409) than MST-related PTSD claims (31,803), though this is expected given that MST goes largely unreported within the military and VA [ 1 , 4 , 5 ] and MST claims have greater evidentiary requirements than combat-related PTSD claims [ 10 ].…”

“…Further, Black women's sexual victimization is often dismissed through harmful racialized tropes around an assumed hypersexuality [25]. Within this context and documented underreporting of MST by men [7][8][9] and Black veterans [4,5], it is also possible these individuals are less likely to file a PTSD claim following an experience of MST. While reporting MST during service or to a VHA provider is not a requirement for an awarded MST-related disability claim, these reports and disclosures can serve as direct or indirect/circumstantial evidence to build a successful MST-related claim [10].…”

“…combat-related claims (102,409) than MST-related PTSD claims (31,803), though this is expected given that MST goes largely unreported within the military and VA [1,4,5] and MST claims have greater evidentiary requirements than combat-related PTSD claims [10].…”

“…However, there is no evidence to support men or Black veterans having a lower threshold for filing claims. It would be surprising if individuals who are less likely to report MST experiences in VA and military settings, such as Black veterans and men [4][5][6][7][8][9], would be more likely to file for MST-related disability compensation given the additional evidentiary requirements for MST-related PTSD claims. It is also unknown how many veterans potentially eligible for MST-related benefits do not file claims and thus are not considered in our analyses.…”

“…Service members and veterans of all genders, races, and backgrounds experience MST, though MST is substantially more likely to be endorsed among women compared to men [ 2 – 4 ]. Findings vary as to whether MST is more likely to be endorsed by White veterans compared to Black and other racial and ethnic minority veterans [ 2 , 4 ], though a recent study found that Black and Latina women veterans were less likely than White women veterans to disclose MST as part of standardized Veterans Health Administration (VHA) MST screenings [ 5 ]. MST is strongly associated with multiple mental and physical health conditions, most notably posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and veterans who experience MST report more severe PTSD symptoms compared to veterans who experience childhood abuse, non-MST sexual assault, and combat [ 2 , 6 ].…”