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Military Sexual Trauma

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Veteran and Military Mental Health

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Abstract

Military sexual trauma refers to experiences of repeated, threatening sexual harassment or sexual assault during military service. Military Sexual Trauma substantially and negatively impacts male and female servicemembers, as well as military readiness. Military Sexual Trauma damages unit cohesion and mission readiness, as it disrupts the trust and bonds formed among servicemembers. The Tailhook sexual assault scandal in 1991 and multiple allegations of sexual assault in the U.S. Air Force Academy that became public in 2003, began to bring the long-standing issue of Military Sexual Trauma to light. The release of the Oscar nominated film, The Invisible War, in 2012, further raised this issue in the public consciousness and helped to motivate lawmakers to propose legislation to protect and support Military Sexual Trauma survivors. This chapter provides an overview of the impact, prevalence, prevention, and treatment of Military Sexual Trauma.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA

    Anne N. Banducci, Colin T. Mahoney & Amy E. Street

  2. Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Anne N. Banducci, Colin T. Mahoney & Amy E. Street

  3. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Colin T. Mahoney

Authors
  1. Anne N. Banducci
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  2. Colin T. Mahoney
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  3. Amy E. Street
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy E. Street .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clin. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Hea, Bethseda, MD, USA

    Christopher H. Warner

  2. Professor of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Carl A. Castro

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Banducci, A.N., Mahoney, C.T., Street, A.E. (2023). Military Sexual Trauma. In: Warner, C.H., Castro, C.A. (eds) Veteran and Military Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18009-5_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-18009-5_15

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