Military sexual trauma (MST)

VA includes sexual activity you were pressured into, physically forced into, or unable to consent to, such as when you were asleep or intoxicated.

MST also includes unwanted sexual touching, including during hazing, and unwelcome sexual comments or advances.

Harassment can wear a person down over months, especially when it comes from people you live and work with every day. Its effects are real and deserve care too.

It does not matter who the other person was, or whether it happened on or off duty, or on or off base. If it happened during your military service, VA counts it as MST.

It also does not matter how long ago it was. VA offers MST-related care no matter how long ago the experience happened.

VA describes MST as an experience, not a diagnosis or a mental health condition. Everyone reacts differently. Many people recover without professional help, and others find that the effects last or return later.

People may notice

• Feeling numb or far away
• Feeling on edge, or not feeling safe
• Sudden, strong emotions: anger, sadness, fear
• Shame, guilt or self-blame

• Gaps in memory about what happened
• Nightmares or trouble sleeping
• Trouble with attention, concentration and memory

Not remembering every detail is a common reaction to trauma. It does not mean it didn’t happen.

Survivors may avoid things that remind them of what happened, or feel on edge around them.

Avoidance makes sense as protection. Over time, though, it can shrink life. Trauma-focused therapy can help you take back places and activities that are safe.

VA lists difficulty trusting others, and feeling isolated or disconnected from others, among common reactions. This can be especially hard when the harm came from someone in your own unit or chain of command.

Survivors may have physical health problems, and some turn to alcohol or drugs to cope. VA’s free MST-related care covers both physical and mental health conditions.

PTSD is one of the most common diagnoses among MST survivors. Depression and other mood conditions, and substance use problems, also happen.

These conditions are treatable. The Veterans: PTSD & combat stress guide explains PTSD signs and the therapies that help.

To get free MST-related care from VA, you do not need to have reported it when it happened, and you do not need documents to prove it. You also do not need a VA disability rating or service connection.

DoD Safe Helpline is an anonymous, confidential support service for the military community affected by sexual assault, open 24/7 worldwide at 877-995-5247 or by online chat at SafeHelpline.org. It can also help people who have left service find civilian support, Vet Centers and VA.

VA’s free Beyond MST app is private self-help: no account is needed, and what you enter is not shared with anyone, including VA.

You never owe anyone the details. You can say as little as “Something happened in the military that still affects me.” You don’t have to share your experience to benefit from supportive people.

It can help to

• Choose a calm time and a private place
• Decide ahead what you want to share, and what you don’t
• Pick someone who has been kind and trustworthy before
• Say what you need: “Just listen,” or “Help me find a counselor”

Women veterans are more likely than men to report MST when screened, and women veterans also have higher rates of PTSD than men veterans.

In the Pentagon’s 2025 survey, an estimated 4.3% of active-duty women experienced unwanted sexual contact in the past year, and 17.5% experienced sexual harassment. Both were lower than in 2023.

About 1 in 50 men screened at VA say they experienced MST. Because so many more men serve, over 1 in 3 veterans who tell a VA provider about MST are men.

Men may stay silent because of shame, fear of not being believed, or worry about what it says about their strength or sexuality. What happened was not your fault, and it says nothing about your strength or who you are as a man.

1in6 offers free, counselor-led online support groups by text chat for men 18 and older who have experienced sexual abuse or assault. They are peer support, not a crisis service.

In a study of veterans, about 1 in 3 lesbian, gay and bisexual veterans (32.7%) had experienced sexual assault in the military, about twice the rate of other veterans (16.4%). Military sexual assault was linked to the higher rates of PTSD and depression found in LGB veterans.

LGBTQ+ survivors may worry about being outed, judged or not believed, especially if the harm was tied to who they are. Those fears make sense. VA’s MST-related care is open to everyone, whatever their sexual orientation or gender.

Every VA health care facility has an MST Coordinator who can answer questions and help you find and use MST-related services. You can find yours with VA’s “Find a VHA MST Coordinator” tool, or ask any VA staff member.

• Outpatient care at VA medical centers and many community clinics: assessment, one-on-one and group therapy
• Residential or inpatient programs for people who need more support; some have separate programs for men and women, and all have separate sleeping areas
• Care for physical health problems related to MST, too

You can ask to meet with a clinician of a particular sex if it would help you feel more comfortable.

VA’s community-based Vet Centers offer MST-related counseling. Current service members, including National Guard and Reserve, can get MST-related counseling at a Vet Center regardless of service era, with no DoD referral needed.

The Vet Center Call Center is free and confidential, around the clock: 1-877-927-8387.

Beyond MST is a free app from VA with over 30 tools to help with MST-related challenges, health, relationships and quality of life. No account or treatment is needed, and what you enter is not shared with anyone, including VA.

Current service members can get MST-related services from VA, though some may need a DoD referral. Vet Center counseling does not need a referral.

DoD Safe Helpline (877-995-5247, 24/7) is anonymous, and staff can connect you with support on your installation or in your community.

If MST led to PTSD, trauma-focused talk therapies have the most research support. They help you work through the trauma, either by facing memories in a safe way or by changing painful beliefs about what happened. They usually take about 8 to 16 sessions.

• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): looks at “stuck points” like “It was my fault”
• EMDR: works on the memory without needing to describe it in detail
• Prolonged Exposure (PE): gently faces memories and safe places you’ve been avoiding
• Written Exposure Therapy (WET): a shorter, 5-session option

• Be kind to yourself, the way you would be to a friend
• Keep healthy habits: food, daylight, movement, and steering clear of substance misuse
• Limit news and social media when stories about assault are in the headlines
• Pace yourself: slow down, simplify or take a break when you feel overwhelmed
• Rest: aim for at least 7 hours of sleep
• Try breathing, guided imagery, gentle yoga or tai chi to feel steady in your body

Spending time with people you enjoy can help, even if you never mention what happened. Remembering past times you got through something hard, and reading stories of others who healed, can help too.

VA’s Make the Connection website shares videos of veterans, families and friends talking about recovery, including from MST.

• Ask your VA provider to connect you with the MST Coordinator
• Call a Vet Center and just ask what they offer
• Fill in the gentle “My MST support plan” worksheet. You never have to write what happened.
• Try VA’s free Beyond MST app

Small steps

• Notice who has been safe and kind, and spend more time there
• Practice small boundaries, like saying “not today”, and notice who respects them
• Remember that you don’t have to trust everyone to trust someone
• Talk with a counselor about the beliefs trauma left behind, like “No one can be trusted”

It can look like

• Feeling far away or numb during closeness
• Less interest in sex, or avoiding it
• Touch or certain situations bringing back memories
• Worry about how your body responds

What can help

• Agree on a word or signal to pause or stop, any time
• Go slowly, and focus on closeness without sex for a while if you need to
• Notice and share what helps you feel safe
• Talk with your clinical provider; physical health can play a part too

VA suggests partners set regular times to talk, plan together for hard days and consider couples counseling. Vet Centers offer marriage and family counseling at no cost.

Ways to start

• “If I pull away, it isn’t about you. Something from my past gets stirred up.”
• “I want to be close. I just need to go slower.”
• “Can we agree that either of us can pause at any time?”

What helps

• Ask what they need, and if they want you to come with them to a counselor or appointment
• Let them know you believe them, and that it was not their fault
• Listen and offer comfort
• Remind them that confusion, memory gaps, anger, numbness and shame are common

What to avoid

• Asking for details they haven’t offered
• Asking “Why didn’t you report it?” or “Why didn’t you fight back?”
• Making decisions for them, or telling others without their OK
• Pushing them to get help with threats or ultimatums

Let them know free VA care exists, even without a report or proof, and that every VA facility has an MST Coordinator. Vet Centers and DoD Safe Helpline are other gentle places to start.

VA suggests making it clear that getting help is their choice, and offering to help if they want it.

Trauma can affect closeness and sex for a long time. Let your partner set the pace, never pressure them, and look for other ways to feel close, like talking, walks or simple affection they welcome.

It is normal to feel angry, sad or helpless when someone you love was hurt. Find your own support, so your feelings don’t become one more weight for the survivor to carry.

• RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline supports loved ones too: 800-656-4673
• VA’s Caregiver Support Line: 1-855-260-3274
• The Veterans Crisis Line also helps family members: dial 988 then press 1