Military Sexual Trauma (MST) refers to any sexual harassment, sexual assault, or unwanted sexual experiences that occur during military service. MST can include a range of behaviors such as sexual touching, coercion, or rape, and affects both men and women in the military. It often leads to significant psychological and physical health challenges, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and chronic physical symptoms. MST is recognized as a serious issue requiring trauma-informed care and support for affected service members and veterans. For many symptoms persist long after service ends, undermining wellbeing and family stability.
Psychological Impact
MST often results in severe psychological consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Survivors frequently experience symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, emotional numbness, hypervigilance, and difficulty trusting others. MST can also lead to low self-esteem, shame, guilt, and social withdrawal, which may impair relationships and overall functioning. The trauma’s impact is often compounded by the military environment, where survivors may fear stigma or retaliation, making it harder to seek help and recover (Meijer et al., 2023; Creech et al., 2014).
Physical Impact
Individuals often experience significant physical health consequences alongside psychological injury. Survivors commonly experience chronic pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, and somatic symptoms related to prolonged stress and trauma-related nervous system dysregulation. These effects highlight the need for integrated, trauma-informed physical and psychological treatment for individuals affected by MST.
Family and Relationship Consequences
The impact of MST trauma on families is significant. The emotional numbing and anger associated with MST can wear down spousal relationships and reduce familial support, which in turn impedes recovery (Brockman et al., 2016). Canadian research underscores that military and veteran families often shoulder significant burdens, including stress, financial insecurity, child behavioural issues, and caregiver fatigue, especially when social support is limited or the veteran’s symptoms are poorly understood (MacLean et al., 2015).
Children may display behavioural problems or internalizing symptoms when a parent struggles with trauma, and spouses frequently report increased anxiety, worry, or diminished quality of life. These dynamic highlights trauma’s systemic effects beyond the individual veteran.
Treatment and Support
MST requires appropriate treatment, such as
- Trauma-Focused Psychotherapies
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT.
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) 2.
- Family & Couples Therapy
Specialized care is also available through Veteran Affairs of Canda, call 1-800-268-7708 for veterans and individuals affected by military-related trauma, including Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and PTSD. Also, Diversified Rehabilitation Group specializes in working with individuals who have experienced MST, operational trauma, and complex PTSD, For more information, visit www.PTSDrecovery.ca or contact info@diversifiedrehab.ca
References
Brockman, C., Snyder, J., Gewirtz, A., Gird, S. R., Quattlebaum, J., & Schmidt, N. (2016). Service member deployment trauma, PTSD symptoms, and family reengagement. Journal of Family Psychology
MacLean, M. B., Campbell, L., Macintosh, S., Lee, J., & Pedlar, D. (2015). Research on Military/Veteran Families. Veterans Affairs Canada.
Meijer, L., Franz, M. R., Deković, M., van Ee, E., Finkenauer, C., Kleber, R. J., et al. (2023). Parenting with PTSD: Influence on Parent-Child Functioning in Military and Veteran Families. Comprehensive Psychiatry.
