The Prevalence of Military Sexual Assault Among Female Veterans' Administration Outpatients

Abstract

Considerable publicity has focused on sexual violence among military women. The authors report the prevalence of military sexual violence and make comparisons among women veterans who report they experienced sexual violence while in the military and those who did not. Data are from the Veterans' Administration (VA) Womens' Health Project, which was designed to assess the health status of women veterans receiving VA ambulatory care. The nationally representative sample (N = 3,632) consists of female veterans who had at least one ambulatory visit at a VA facility between July 1, 1994, and June 30, 1995. More than half (55%) of the women report they were sexually harassed while in the military, and almost one quarter (23%) report they were sexually assaulted. There are differences in sociodemographic characteristics, military experiences, and current health perceptions of women who reported sexual harassment or sexual assault while in the military as compared to those who did not. The prevalence of military sexual harassment and sexual assault is high and screening for sexual assault is important in all women patients given the differences between groups.

Effects of Military Trauma Exposure on Women Veterans’ Use and Perceptions of Veterans Health Administration Care

“…Military sexual assault was strongly associated with poorer perceptions of VHA care as well as more problems with VHA doctors and staff, even after accounting for depressive symptoms, which may contribute to negative appraisals of VHA services. These results are important in light of the fact that women veterans who have experienced military sexual assault are more likely than women veterans without these experiences to have poorer health functioning as seen in the present study and in other studies, 7,35,36 and in turn, tend to have higher rates of health care utilization. The finding that combat exposure was not a significant predictor of problems with VHA care is encouraging.…”

“…Participants were selected using a stratified sampling design. This design included 12 strata: 3 age groups, representing pre-Vietnam, Vietnam, and postVietnam cohorts (over 50, [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49], and under 35 years), 2 racial groups (black and non-black), and 3 VHA user groups (nonusers, former users, and current users). Smaller strata were oversampled (e.g., African Americans under 35) to facilitate group comparisons.…”

Sexual assault and alcohol consumption: what do we know about their relationship and what types of research are still needed?

“…Forty-five percent of these women reported being the victim of attempted or completed rape before joining the military. In a representative survey of more than 3000 women veterans, 23% had been sexually assaulted while they were in the military (Skinner et al, 2000).…”

Sexual harassment and assault experienced by reservists during military service: Prevalence and health correlates

“…In recent years, concerns about the high rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault experienced by members of the U.S. military during their national service have caused researchers, policymakers, and the press to pay considerable attention to this issue [1][2][3]. Sexual harassment, long identified as a significant occupational health concern in the civilian sector [4], is defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature" that occur in a work setting [5].…”