Veterans' Health

Raising Awareness And Support For Male Victims Of Sexual Assault In The Military

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Robert Hunter was raped in the Navy when he was 19, a memory he repressed for 32 years. When the memory returned, he drank heavily and endured mental health problems.

After receiving help from the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, he decided to build “something good from something horrible” and bring attention to men who are sexually assaulted in the military. The Connecticut veteran co-founded a national advocacy group called Men Recovering from Military Sexual Trauma (Mr. MST) because, he said, “male victims aren’t taken seriously.”

Hunter’s organization has spent the last three years raising awareness and lobbying for health care for military victims of sexual assault, meeting with top government decision makers, participating in White House policy discussions, speaking at events for military sexual assault victims and joining women survivors in advocating for removing the prosecution of military sexual assault from the chain of command. In the military, where men comprise 85 percent of the population, more men than women are sexually assaulted. The most recent Pentagon estimates show 10,600 men and 9,600 women were assaulted in 2014, representing 1 percent of active duty men and 4.9 percent of women.

Veterans' Health

Lawsuit Filed To Gain Records Of Military Academies’ Admissions

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Claiming the shortage of women in military academies puts female students at greater risk of sexual assaults and harassment, several groups sued the U.S. Department of Defense Tuesday seeking access to the schools’ admission policies and enrollment numbers. The Service Women’s Action Network, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU of Connecticut sued the department for violating the Freedom of Information Act. The groups say they sought enrollment data and information about recruiting and admission practices from the department in November and the information has been withheld. The groups want to see enrollment records from the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Officials at the Department of Defense did not respond to requests for comment.