For Women Warriors, Deep Wounds, Little Care

Op-Ed Contributor - For Women Warriors, Deep Wounds, Little Care - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com:

Some quotes from this excellent article:

"Last month, when the RAND Corporation released the biggest non-military survey of the mental health of troops since 2001, it unwittingly reflected this lack of research. The survey found that women suffer from higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression than men do, but it neglected to look into why this might be, and asked no questions about abuse from fellow soldiers."

"As the more than 191,500 women who have served in the Middle East since 2001 return home, they will increasingly flood the Veterans Affairs system. To ask those who need help for post-traumatic stress disorder to turn to a typical Veterans Affairs hospital, built in the 1950s and designed to treat men, is untenable. Women who have been raped or sexually assaulted often cannot face therapy groups or medical facilities full of men."

"Women are the fastest-growing group of veterans, and by 2020 they are projected to account for 20 percent of all veterans under the age of 45. Not all of these women will have suffered sexual assault, but many will have medical or psychological needs that conventional department hospitals cannot meet."

Being sexually assaulted by one's fellow soldiers is very much like abuse within the family. Nearly every soldier in every branch reports that the armed forces becomes their "family" and other soldiers become their "brothers." In that way, military sexual abuse is very much like incest abuse. The feelings of betrayal, shame, and outrage are virtually identical.

The Returning Warriors retreat program is also very capable of addressing the trauma of female survivors of such abuse.