The Phenomenology of Military Sexual Trauma Among Women Veterans

Abstract

Although researchers have examined health outcomes among survivors of military sexual trauma, knowledge regarding the phenomenology of military sexual trauma among women veterans remains limited. We used a qualitative, phenomenological approach to describe the experience, context, and perceived effects of military sexual trauma among women veterans. Thirty-two cisgender female military sexual trauma survivors participated in interviews, which we analyzed through thematic analysis. The following themes emerged: (1) sexual harassment: “expected,” “constant,” and “normal”; (2) silencing and disempowerment: “If you want a career, then shut up”; (3) changed attitudes toward the military: “I lost faith”; (4) loss of relational trust: “I can protect me if I’m not involved with someone”; (5) survivor internalization of messages conveyed by military sexual trauma: “If I looked different, none of this would have happened”; (6) coping by escape and avoidance: “I put my head in the sand and hoped it would go away”; and (7) a path to healing through validation and justice: “You’ll get through it.” Results suggest the importance of increasing stakeholders’ knowledge regarding military sexual trauma complexities and contexts. Military sexual trauma survivors should be heard, believed, and supported in pursuing justice. We also suggest cultural shifts and continued efforts to prevent military sexual trauma. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index

Keywords

military sexual trauma women’s health phenomenology qualitative

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bell

M. E.

Street

A. E.

Stafford

(2014). Victims’ psychosocial well-being after reporting sexual harassment in the military. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 15, 133–152. doi:10.1080/15299732.2014.867563

Bennett

(2017, 11 30). The #metoo movement: When the blinders come off. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/the-metoo-moment.html

Blais

R. K.

Brignone

Maguen

Carter

M. E.

Fargo

J. D.

Gundlapalli

A. V.

(2017). Military sexual trauma is associated with post-deployment eating disorders among Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 1–9. doi:10.1002/eat.22705

Boldry

Wood

Kashy

D. A.

(2001). Gender stereotypes and the evaluation of men and women in military training. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 689–705.

Boyatzis

R. E.

(1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Breiding

M. J.

Basile

K. C.

Smith

S. G.

Black

M. C.

Mahendra

R. R.

(2015). Intimate partner violence surveillance: Uniform definitions and recommended data elements (Version 2.0). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv/intimatepartnerviolence.pdf

Burkhart

Hogan

(2015). Being a female veteran: A grounded theory of coping with transitions. Social Work in Mental Health, 13, 108–127. doi:10.1080/15332985.2013.870102

Burns

Grindlay

Holt

Manski

Grossman

(2014). Military sexual trauma among US servicewomen during deployment: A qualitative study. American Journal of Public Health, 104, 345–349. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301576

10.

Campbell

Wasco

S. M.

(2005). Understanding rape and sexual assault: 20 years of progress and future directions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 127–131. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301576

11.

Carpenter

D. R.

(2007). Phenomenology as method. In Streubert Speziale

H. J.

Carpenter

D. R.

(Eds.), Qualitative research in nursing: Advancing the humanistic imperative (pp. 75–101). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

12.

Case

K. A.

(2007). Raising male privilege awareness and reducing sexism: An evaluation of diversity courses. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 426–435. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2007.00391.x

13.

Creech

S. K.

Orchowski

L. M.

(2016). Correlates of sexual revictimization among women veterans presenting to primary care. Traumatology, 22, 165–173. doi:10.1037/trm0000082

14.

Department of Defense. (2014). Sexual assault prevention strategy. Retrieved from http://www.sapr.mil/public/docs/reports/SecDef_Memo_and_DoD_SAPR_Prevention_Strategy_2014-2016.pdf

15.

Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office. (2013). Sexual assault prevention and response in the Department of Defense. Presented at the National Center for Victims of Crime Conference. Retrieved from http://victimsofcrime.org/docs/nat-conf-2013/ncvc-briefing_11-sept-2013-(as-of-092713).pdf?sfvrsn=2

16.

Department of Veterans Affairs. (2017). Military sexual trauma (MST) screening report, fiscal year 2016. Retrieved from http://sapr.mil/index.php/reports

17.

DePrince

A. P.

Freyd

J. J.

(2004). Forgetting trauma stimuli. Psychological Science, 15, 488–492. doi:10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00706.x

18.

Dichter

M. E.

Wagner

True

(2016). Women veterans’ experiences of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual assault in the context of military service: Implications for supporting women’s health and well-being. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33, 1–22. doi:10.1177/0886260516669166

19.

Dickey

M. R.

(2018, 4 3). All Raise wants to increase the amount of venture funding female founders receive. TechCrunch: Startup and Technology News. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/03/allraise-wants-to-increase-the-amount-of-venture-funding-female-founders-receive/

20.

Fisher

(2010). Feminist phenomenological voices. Continental Philosophy Review, 43, 83–95. doi:10.1007/s11007-010-9132-y

21.

Frayne

S. M.

Skinner

K. M.

Sullivan

L. M.

Tripp

T. J.

Hankin

C. S.

Kressin

N. R.

Miller

D. R.

(1999). Medical profile of women Veterans Administration outpatients who report a history of sexual assault occurring while in the military. Journal of Women’s Health & Gender-Based Medicine, 8, 835–845. doi:10.1089/152460999319156

22.

Fredrickson

B. L.

Roberts

T. A.

(1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206. doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x

23.

Freyd

J. J.

(1994). Betrayal-trauma: Traumatic amnesia as an adaptive response to childhood abuse. Ethics & Behaviour, 4, 307–329. doi:10.1207/s15327019eb0404_1

24.

Gillibrand

(2017). Snapshot review of sexual assault report files. Retrieved from https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017%20Military%20Sexual%20Assault%20Report.pdf

25.

Goffman

(1961). On the characteristics of total institutions. In Symposium on preventive and social psychiatry (pp. 43–84). Washington, DC: Walter Reed Army Medical Centre.

26.

Golding

J. M.

Siege

J. M.

Sorenson

S. B.

Burnam

M. A.

Stein

J. A.

(1989). Social support sources following sexual assault. Journal of Community Psychology, 17, 92–107. doi:10.1002/1520-6629(198901)17:1<92:: AID-JCOP2290170110>3.0.CO;2-E. Retrieved from: https://is.muni.cz/el/1423/podzim2009/SOC139/um/soc139_16_Goffman.pdf

27.

Goodman

L. A.

Liang

Helms

J. E.

Latta

R. E.

Sparks

Weintraub

S. R.

(2004). Training counseling psychologists as social justice agents: Feminist and multicultural principles in action. The Counseling Psychologist, 32, 793–836.

28.

Himmelfarb

Yaeger

Mintz

(2006). Posttraumatic stress disorder in female veterans with military and civilian sexual trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 19, 837–846. doi:10.1002/jts.20163

29.

Husserl

(1913/1962). Ideas: General introduction to pure phenomenology ( Gibson

W. R. B.

, Trans.). New York, NY: Collier Books.

30.

Janoff-Bulman

Frieze

I. H.

(1983). A theoretical perspective for understanding reactions to victimization. Journal of Social Issues, 39, 1–17.

31.

Kimerling

Gima

Smith

M. W.

Street

Frayne

(2007). The Veterans Health Administration and military sexual trauma. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 2160–2166. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.092999

32.

Lester

(1999). An introduction to qualitative research. Taunton, England: Stan Lester Developments. Retrieved from http://devmts.org.uk/resmethy.pdf

33.

Lindberg

S. M.

Grabe

Hyde

J. S.

(2007). Gender, pubertal development, and peer sexual harassment predict objectified body consciousness in early adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17, 723–742. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2007.00544.x

34.

Maguen

Ren

Bosch

J. O.

Marmar

C. R.

Seal

K. H.

(2012). Gender differences in mental health diagnoses among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans enrolled in Veterans Affairs health care. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 2450–2456. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.166165

35.

Markle

D. T.

West

R. E.

Rich

P. J.

(2011). Beyond transcription: Technology, change, and refinement of method. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 12. doi:10.17169/fqs-12.3.1564

36.

Mattocks

K. M.

Haskell

S. G.

Krebs

E. E.

Justice

A. C.

Yano

E. M.

Brandt

(2012). Women at war: Understanding how women veterans cope with combat and military sexual trauma. Social Science & Medicine, 74, 537–545. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.10.039

37.

McIntyre

(2002). Exploring whiteness and multicultural education with prospective teachers. Curriculum Inquiry, 32, 31–49.

38.

Monteith

L. M.

Bahraini

N. B.

Gerber

H. R.

Dorsey

Holliman, B.

Schneider

A. L.

Matarazzo

B. B.

(in press). Military sexual trauma survivors’ perceptions of Veterans Health Administration care: A qualitative examination. Psychological Services.

39.

Monteith

L. L.

Bahraini

N. H.

Matarazzo

B. B.

Soberay

K. A.

Smith

C. P.

(2016). Perceptions of institutional betrayal predict suicidal self-directed violence among veterans exposed to military sexual trauma. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72, 743–755. doi:10.1002/jclp.22292

40.

Monteith

L. L.

Brownstone

L. M.

Gerber

H. R.

Soberay

K. A.

Bahraini

N. H.

(2018). Understanding suicidal self-directed violence among men exposed to military sexual trauma: An ecological framework. Psychology of Men and Masculinity. Advanced online publication. doi:10.1037/men0000141

41.

Monteith

L. L.

Gerber

H. R.

Brownstone

L. M.

Soberay

K. A.

Bahraini

N. B.

(2018). The phenomenology of military sexual trauma among male veterans. Psychology of Men and Masculinity. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/men0000153

42.

Morral

A. R.

Gore

K. L.

Schell

T. L.

(2015). Sexual assault and sexual harassment in the U.S. Military, Vol. 2. Estimates for Department of Defense service members from the 2014 RAND Military Workplace Study. Santa Monica, CA: Rand National Defense Research Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR870z2

43.

Neal

J. W.

Neal

Z. P.

VanDyke

Kornbluh

(2015). Expediting the analysis of qualitative data in evaluation: A procedure for the rapid identification of themes from audio recordings (RITA). American Journal of Evaluation, 36, 118–132. doi:10.1177/1098214014536601

44.

Schenck

L. M.

(2013). Sex offenses under military law: Will the recent changes in the uniform code of military justice re-traumatize sexual assault survivors in the courtroom. Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, 11, 439.

45.

Smith

C. P.

Freyd

J. J.

(2013). Dangerous safe havens: Institutional betrayal exacerbates sexual trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26, 119–124. doi:10.1002/jts.21778

46.

Surís

Lind

Kashner

T. M.

Borman

P. D.

(2007). Mental health, quality of life, and health functioning in women veterans: Differential outcomes associated with military and civilian sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 179–197. doi:10.1177/0886260506295347

47.

Time’s Up. (2018, 1 1). Open letter from Time’s Up. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/01/arts/02women-letter.html

48.

Turchik

J. A.

Bucossi

M. M.

Kimerling

(2014). Perceived barriers to care and gender preferences among veteran women who experienced military sexual trauma: A qualitative analysis. Military Behavioral Health, 2, 180–188. doi:10.1080/21635781.2014.892410

49.

Turchik

J. A.

Pavao

Nazarian

Iqbal

McLean

Kimerling

(2012). Sexually transmitted infections and sexual dysfunctions among newly returned veterans with and without military sexual trauma. International Journal of Sexual Health, 24, 45–59. doi:10.1080/19317611.2011.639592

50.

U.S. Government. (2014). Veterans’ benefits: Counseling and treatment for sexual trauma, 38 USC §1720D. Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2014-title38/pdf/USCODE-2014-title38-partII-chap17-subchapII-sec1720D.pdf

51.

Wilson

L. C.

(2016). The prevalence of military sexual trauma: A meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 1–14. doi:10.1177/1524838016683459

52.

Wolff

K. B.

Mills

P. D.

(2016). Reporting military sexual trauma: A mixed-methods study of women veterans’ experiences who served from World War II to the War in Afghanistan. Military Medicine, 181, 840–848. doi:10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00404

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.55 MB