Sexual assaults can happen to anyone at any time in any place. Sadly, this includes the US military. Many victims are hesitant to report sexual assault due to fear or embarrassment; however, in recent years sexual assault in the military has been exposed as a major issue. While it is still estimated that many cases of sexual assault in the military go vastly unreported, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has started to offer disability benefits for sexual trauma. For help with filing a military sexual trauma claim, connect with an attorney who is well-versed in the VA claims process.
The VA’s official term for these events is “military sexual trauma” (MST). The VA defines MST as sexual assault or repetitive, threatening sexual harassment. Circumstances that typically qualify as sexual assault are:
In order to qualify for MST benefits you must be able to prove that you had an incident of military sexual trauma while on active duty, that you are currently diagnosed with a mental or physical disability, and that your disabilities were caused or worsened by the MST you suffered while in service
Unfortunately, simply being the victim of a sexual assault will not qualify you for disability benefits. Disabilities may include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety disorders, panic attacks, and substance abuse.
Thankfully, the VA does not require your service medical records to have any documentation of the harassment or assault. However, the VA does require some sort of proof the attack happened, and they accept the following form of proof;
In some cases you may need to provide some sort of proof that the MST affected your personality or behavior. The VA will accept the following as proof of behavioral changes:
If you have been dealing with a disability as a result of MST there is help available. Contact our office for a free case evaluation to learn more about military sexual trauma claims.
