Burden of Proof. Military sexual trauma is the leading cause of post-traumatic stress among female veterans. The extent of the problem is unknown, because victims are reluctant to come forward. The Pentagon estimates that there were more than 19,000 sexual assaults in the ranks in 2010 – an increase of about 3,000 from 2009. Only 3,158 were officially reported. About 40 percent of MST survivors are men. Around 25 percent of sexual assaults occur during combat deployments
Survivors face a perplexing double standard from VA when they file PTS claims, says Greg Jacob, a former Marine who is now policy director for SWAN. Last year, VA eased the burden of proof for combat PTS claims. Essentially, veterans no longer need independent evidence to confirm they were exposed to enemy threats such as roadside bombs or mortar attacks.
Sexual-trauma survivors, however, still have to submit corroborating evidence of their assault. That’s a significant challenge, even if they report harassment or assault at the time it happens. DoD only keeps rape kits for a year, and sexual-harassment investigations for two years. By the time an assault survivor gets out of the service and files a PTS claim with VA, the evidence has usually been destroyed, Jacob says.
VA allows so-called secondary evidence, such as statements from friends, relatives or others with whom the survivor may have confided about the assault. It’s meaningless, Jacob says. “VA says you can submit it. But it has no guidance for the claims officer to accept it, and hasn’t published anything about what the burden of proof is.”
By Ken Olsen
The War Within: Part I - Military Sexual Trauma The American Legion Veterans Serving Veterans
