I wanted to share an article I just received on sexual assault in the military and how difficult it is to have claims approved:
A related issue is that in 2012 only about 13% of estimated 26,000 instances of sexual assault or unwanted sexual contact were actually reported, which is a shame. The number of reported incidents increased substantially in 2013, but it’s not clear whether this means military sexual trauma survivors are more willing to report incidents or the number of incidents has increased – hopefully the former.
I should note that about 20% of our workshop attendees are women and the vast majority of them have experienced some sort of sexual assault during their service. There have been some very creative and powerful films made about the subject, which are featured in the film gallery of the Alumni-only portal of our website, accessible by anyone who has attended our workshops. Victim to Survivor and Absolute Accountability are excellent examples of films made about this tough subject. Also, on the Film page of our main website, all visitors can see the film Real Battles, another very powerful example.
Women play increasingly vital roles in our nation’s armed forces and we applaud their bravery on every level.