Bill would ease compensation for sexual trauma

Bill would ease compensation for sexual trauma
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 8, 2011 17:18:35 EST
Veterans who are sexually assaulted, raped or harassed while in the service often find they are ineligible for post-service disability compensation and medical treatment if they have no evidence that they’re suffering from service-related traumatic stress.

A Maine congresswoman wants to change that.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, has introduced legislation that would require the Veterans Affairs Department to accept veterans’ statements about the origin of their sexual trauma in the absence of police, medical eyewitness reports or other documentation about the event or events that triggered the mental health problems.

“It’s very difficult to prove sexual assault within the current system, which makes it just as difficult for veterans who have been victims to qualify for the treatments and benefits they need to recover,” Pingree said in a statement. “It’s a classic case of adding insult to injury.”

Anuradha Bhagwati, a former Marine Corps officer who is now executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network, said military sexual trauma victims often lack military records because they never file formal complaints or their records were destroyed. They also often lack informal records, such as letters to friends and family, because they are reluctant to talk about their treatment, she said.

Some records that might help prove claims, such as rape kits and the medical records related to them, and sexual harassment complaints filed with military equal opportunity offices, are routinely destroyed under defense and service policies, Bhagwati said.

“The reality is, the majority of sexual trauma victims do not report their crimes because they don’t feel safe to do so,” she said. “If they do report it, the records often are not available because they are destroyed.”
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