Sexual violence

Being sexually assaulted in a military or combat setting

Sexual assault or harassment that occurred during military service. Including assault by fellow service members or superiors. MST carries particular layers because of the chain of command, the fear of reporting, and the fact that you still had to serve alongside or under the person who harmed you.

Being assaulted inside the military meant the person who harmed you might outrank you, the system for reporting ran through people who knew them, and you still had to show up the next day. That trap is its own layer of harm. Many survivors carry the assault and the institution's betrayal as two separate wounds, and both are honored here.

What can follow an experience like this

No two people carry the same experience the same way. These are some of the effects that people with this experience often describe. Having some of them, all of them, or none of them says nothing about how real what happened to you was.

PTSD After certain experiences, the brain can get stuck, replaying what happened through flashbacks, nightmares, or sudden intense reactions to things that remind you of it. Hypervigilance The nervous system that learned to scan for danger all the time. Trust issues Trust that was broken, repeatedly, by people who were supposed to be safe. Insomnia Difficulty falling asleep. C-PTSD When trauma happened repeatedly, over a long time, or at the hands of people who were supposed to care for you, the effects go deeper than a single event. Depression Not just sadness. Shame Not guilt about something you did. Anxiety The background hum of dread that is always there.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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