"We create the conditions that compel traumatized veterans to remain silent"

“We Refuse To Accept Their Story”
BY Staff
New Haven Independent
JUL 19, 2012

Armed with the story of two women who were raped while in the military, the leader of a local veterans advocacy group urged U.S. Congress to make it easier for victims of sexual assault to get cleared for disability compensation.

Margaret Middleton (pictured), executive director and co-founder of the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, addressed the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Wednesday afternoon.

Current regulations are so restrictive that only a third of veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder related to a military sexual trauma see their claims granted by the Veterans’ Administration, Middleton said in a press release. By contrast, the VA approves over half of combat-related PTSD claims, she said.

“We create the conditions that compel traumatized veterans to remain silent, and then we punish them for that silence by refusing to accept their story when they come forward to tell it. We know that this is grossly unfair, and we know how to fix it,” Middleton said.
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