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15% of Women Vets Report Sexual Abuse: Study

Assaults often lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, survey of 125K finds

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 28, 2008 11:47 AM CDT

(Newser) – Some 15% of female Iraq or Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care report suffering sexual trauma, including harassment or assault while on duty, a study finds, with more than half suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The study by the Department of Veterans Affairs surveyed more than 125,000 in 2001-2007, USA Today reports; the Pentagon plans to bolster prevention efforts.

Another recent study found that the programs don’t always work and that more than half of victims don’t report the abuse. “A typical scenario” for a victim “is it’s either a supervisor or someone at her level, in the same military unit,” says a counselor, noting that less than a third of victims she sees have told the military.

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The Pentagon plans to launch a program next year aimed at educating 18- to 24-year-old men about sexual abuse. (AP Photo)

With about 15% of female veterans who seek medical care from the US Department of Veterans Affairs reporting sexual abuse in Iraq or Afghanistan, more than half also suffer from PTSD. (AP Photo)

A US soldier, right, photographs her comrade with an Afghan woman at the US airbase in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

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If you come forward, you're tattle-telling on a comrade. Women have told me about the sneers, the sarcastic comments. They can find themselves ostracized. - Anita Sanchez, rep of a nonprofit that works with victims of military-related trauma

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15% of Women Vets Report Sexual Abuse: Study