Bipartisan Group of Representatives Urge the VA to Support for Veteran Military Sexual Trauma Survivors

WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) led a group of 49 members of the House of Representatives today urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to improve its training, oversight, transparency and record keeping when dealing with military sexual trauma (MST)-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) compensation claims. A recent report found that the VA discriminates against thousands of MST-related PTSD survivors annually. The VA recently released data from this year that suggests some improvement, but unjust gaps still exist.

“As you know, sexual assault and harassment are serious problems in the United States armed forces that threaten the strength, readiness, and morale of the military, undermine national security, and have devastating personal effects on survivors and their families,” the bipartisan group of representatives wrote to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. “Yet, based on records that the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) withheld for years, it is evident that veterans who survive in-service sexual trauma also face discrimination in seeking compensation.”

The letter can be read in its entirety here.

It took a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the Veterans Legal Service Clinic at Yale Law School for the records referred to by the representatives to become public.