Perceived Retaliation Against Military Sexual Assault Victims
Abstract
In 2014, we estimated that approximately 20,300 active-component service members experienced a sexual assault in the previous 12 months (1.0 percent of men and 4.9 percent of women; Morral, Gore, and Schell, 2015b). A Fifteen percent of women and 2 percent of men had been sexually assaulted at least one time since joining the service (Morral, Gore, and Schell, 2015b). Sexual assault victimization is associated with a variety of negative outcomes, including short- and long-term medical problems, mental health symptoms, suicide attempts, and career disruption (Frayne et al., 1999; Kimerling et al., 2007; Riggs et al., 2000; Skinner et al., 2000). Some of the harms associated with victimization may be attributed to experiences that occur in the aftermath of assault, rather than the assault itself. Victims who are disbelieved, stigmatized, or blamed when they confide in others are more likely than other victims to experience posttraumatic stress symptoms(Campbell et al., 2001). These experiences maybe common in the military. In 2014, 30 percent of female military sexual assault victims self-reported that they experienced social retaliation, professional retaliation, or adverse administrative actions, or punishments for violations associated with the sexual assault (Jaycox et al., 2015). Among female victims who chose to file an official report with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), perceived retaliation is even higher (54.5 to 62 percent; Jaycox et al., 2015; Morral, Gore, and Schell, 2015a).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1126494
Entities
People
- Coreen A. Farris
- Lisa H. Jacox
- Robin Beckman
- Terry L Schell
Organizations
- RAND Corporation