Military

'It savaged my life': military sexual assault survivors fighting to become visible

According to the most recent statistics from the Pentagon, of the 20,300 service members sexually assaulted in 2014, 10,600 were men – a rate over 52%.

Sexual assault within the military has reached shocking levels. In 2013, one in four women using the Department of Veterans Affairs’ healthcare screened positive for military sexual assault. While awareness around female service members’ ordeal lags far behind solutions, it has belatedly begun, in part due toefforts from US senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Claire McCaskill and the award-winning documentary The Invisible War.

Yet male service members who experience military sexual assault remain even less visible. Studies by the Rand Corporation and the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ research arm, indicate that only 40% of women service members report their sexual assaults, compared to just 13% of men.