LaShonda Williams
September 16, 2011
Blog #3
Society looks at veterans as brave individuals who risked their lives to serve our country. Many people are not aware of the extremely large number of female veterans who have experienced sexual assault while serving. They are now fighting to receive post traumatic disorder benefits that were inflicted by the sexual assault they endured. These women and many other groups such as The Service Women’s Actions Network want to know why the Veterans Benefit Administration only approves benefits for 32 percent of cases submitted dealing with sexual trauma. Their actions of showing little concern raises questions as to why our country is looking over these claims as if sexual assault is a legitimate cause of post dramatic stress. These women ultimately had no place to turn to get away from the sexual assault that they were experiencing.
The Veteran Association has recently lifted the requirement of proving what specific situations triggered their post traumatic stress making it much easier for veterans to receive their benefits. However, they have yet to do the same for women who suffer from post traumatic stress from being sexually assaulted. The fact that the VA still hasn’t made any changes to support this unfair treatment shows there willingness to allow these acts to still continue. Many people are unaware of these situations in our military. There are limited sources to help these women mentally progress after their experience. Both the pentagon and the Veteran Affairs acknowledge the issue of sexual assault among women. They claim the issue will be addressed but first they need to show they are trying to make changes to allow women to receive what they are entitled to. This type of treatment sets women back in our country as well as many others around the world. To accomplish anything a safe environment must be first implemented and women in the military should feel safe amongst everyone in their base.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/opinion/justice-for-women-veterans.html?_r=1&ref=women
1 comment:
Thank you for raising this issue. For someone who has gone through the disability process with mixed PTSD/MST symptoms, I can say the process was a nightmare, at least.
The re-traumatization that the VA puts women through to defend their claim is not only retriggering of the event, but have sent these women into deeper emotional crisis.
When I returned from OIF in 2005 there were no services for women at my local VA. They looked at me funny, treated me like the last 4 digits of my social security number, joked inappropriately, and offered me no services.The only female provider I saw there was a rigid, old school psychiatrist with her own agenda.
As a result I entered into adult psychiatric inpatient care outside the VA due to the stigma of the VA and the realization that they could not meet my needs as a female. I continue to seek outpatient care outside of the VA, which is very expensive. However, I do credit the White River Junction VA as the best facility on the east coast who has now set the standard for womens care based on their research, expertise, and genuine interest in meeting the needs of female soldiers.
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