When the Uniform Betrays: The Silent Crisis of Military Sexual Trauma
We prepare soldiers to face the horrors of war: the whine of bullets overhead, the chaos of combat, the ever-present possibility of death. But for many veterans, the trauma they carry is not from the battlefield. It's from behind the lines. It's from those wearing the same uniform.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), approximately 1 in 3 women and 1 in 50 men report having experienced military sexual trauma (MST) when screened during their VA healthcare intake. These numbers are staggering on their own, but they only scratch the surface. They represent those who answered "yes" when asked. The silent ones, the fearful ones, the ones who buried the memory deep to survive, those are uncounted.
Now consider this: the VA also estimates that only about 7% of all veterans experience combat-related PTSD. That means a female veteran is statistically more likely to be traumatized by her own military environment than by the enemy. One in three, one in three is a rate that should be treated as a national scandal. It is unacceptable by every moral, ethical, and operational standard.
What is Military Sexual Trauma?
Military sexual trauma, or MST, refers to sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment experienced during military service. The VA defines it broadly, including:
Sexual activity against one's will through physical force, coercion, or manipulation
Unwanted sexual touching, comments, or advances
Sexual encounters while the victim was asleep, intoxicated, or otherwise unable to consent
Hazing rituals that include sexual abuse
What makes MST uniquely traumatic is its context. In the military, service members are trained to rely on their peers and superiors for survival, safety, and cohesion. MST is a betrayal of that bond. It's not just the assault that damages, it’s the collapse of trust in a system that was supposed to protect you.
A Hidden Epidemic: MST vs. Combat PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with the battlefield. But many studies have shown that MST is as likely (if not more likely) to lead to PTSD than combat itself. For women veterans in particular, MST is the leading cause of PTSD. The VA notes that, beyond PTSD, many survivors also struggle with depression, substance abuse, anxiety, and chronic health problems.
This fact alone should give us pause: we train our soldiers to be mentally and physically prepared for the brutal realities of combat, but many are wounded in ways we never anticipated, and by people we never warned them about.
What’s particularly troubling is the way some institutional messaging seems to normalize MST as though it's simply another type of trauma to expect and recover from, similar to combat PTSD. The VA’s factsheet, while informative and supportive in tone, frames MST with an air of inevitability. Statements like "MST is an experience, not a diagnosis" and acknowledgments of resilience can unintentionally imply that MST is just another occupational hazard. But sexual violence is not a byproduct of service it is a failure of command, culture, and justice.
MST and Premature Death
Recent research has uncovered even more alarming outcomes. A 2025 study of 111,222 veterans with alcohol and/or opioid use disorders (AUD/OUD) found that MST+ veterans (those with a recorded history of MST) died, on average, six years younger than MST- veterans. MST+ women died significantly younger than MST+ men and MST- women.
Among these MST+ veterans:
The risk of opioid overdose death was 2.8 times higher than for MST- veterans.
The risk of suicide was 1.3 times higher than for MST- veterans.
These findings are devastating. They not only confirm that MST contributes to psychological damage but also that it leads to accelerated, preventable death. MST+ veterans with substance use disorders are living shorter lives and dying in more tragic, avoidable ways.
Even more disturbing: these deaths are not isolated. From 2016 to 2021, more than 111,000 veterans with AUD and/or OUD died, with thousands having documented MST histories. This is not just a mental health crisis, it is a public health emergency.
Culture of Silence and Retaliation
One of the most tragic elements of MST is that it thrives in silence. Victims frequently face retaliation, disbelief, or character assassination when they report their assaults. Careers have been ended, reputations destroyed, and psychological injuries deepened by a system more interested in protecting its image than its people.
The VA acknowledges this: survivors often don't disclose unless asked directly, which is why the agency made screening for MST part of its standard intake process. While this is a crucial step forward, it still leaves most of the burden on the survivor to speak up in an environment where they often feel unsafe.
And that silence has consequences. Not only does it allow perpetrators to remain in the ranks, but it also fosters a toxic culture where abuse is normalized, excused, or simply ignored.
Would All-Female Units Be Safer?
Faced with the reality that many service members are more likely to be harmed by their own than by the enemy, a provocative question arises: would an all-female army be safer?
The idea isn't just theoretical. All-female units have existed in history and modern military structures around the world, notably in Kurdish resistance forces and in various humanitarian and peacekeeping roles. These units often report high levels of cohesion, lower rates of internal harassment, and better mental health outcomes.
While an all-female military may not be practical or politically palatable on a national scale, the question itself exposes a failure in the current structure. If simply removing men from the equation reduces the likelihood of trauma, then we must confront a brutal truth: the system is not just flawed, it is dangerous for many who serve.
More realistically, we should explore options like:
Increasing the number of women in leadership positions
Creating and enforcing zero-tolerance policies for sexual harassment and assault
Providing specialized training in trauma-informed leadership
Implementing gender-segregated barracks or units when appropriate
Ensuring independent reporting structures, outside the chain of command
Support Systems: Too Little, Too Late?
The VA does provide a wide range of services for MST survivors, many of which are commendable:
Free treatment for physical and mental health conditions related to MST
Access to care even for those who are not service-connected or fully enrolled in VA care
Inpatient and residential programs for intensive treatment
Options for male or female clinicians and gender-sensitive treatment environments
These resources are lifesaving for many. But they are often accessed after the damage has been done. The system is reactive, not proactive. And while recovery is always possible, prevention must be the priority.
A Call for Cultural Reboot
Solving the MST crisis isn’t just about punishing offenders or treating survivors. It’s about transforming a culture that has too often valued hierarchy over humanity, silence over justice, and strength over compassion.
The military can and should be a place of honor, resilience, and brother- and sisterhood. But that ideal cannot coexist with a culture that allows sexual violence to flourish in its shadows.
We must:
Listen to survivors and believe them
Educate service members on consent, power dynamics, and respectful conduct
Hold leadership accountable for fostering safe environments
Redesign reporting systems to protect the accuser, not the institution
Because in the end, what kind of military are we building if our soldiers must fear their comrades more than their enemies?
Simply Put
Military Sexual Trauma is not a side issue. It is not an unfortunate by-product of military life. It is a central, systemic crisis that undermines the very foundation of trust, discipline, and unity that the armed forces are built upon.
And while women veterans are disproportionately impacted, MST does not discriminate. Men and nonbinary service members are also survivors, often facing even steeper barriers to disclosure, including stigma, disbelief, and institutional erasure. Their suffering is compounded by a culture that too often equates masculinity with invulnerability and silence with strength.
This is not just a mental health crisis. It is a public health emergency. It is a leadership failure. And it is a moral collapse that demands a structural reckoning; not only in how we treat survivors, but in how we design, lead, and uphold the culture of military service.
If we can armour our troops against bullets, we can armour them against betrayal. That armour isn’t made of Kevlar; it’s made of accountability, prevention, education, and justice.
Because in the end, the question isn’t just how we protect our country. It’s how we protect those who’ve sworn to protect it.
