MST stands for Military Sexual Trauma, a term used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to describe sexual assault or sexual harassment that occurs during military service. It is not a clinical diagnosis but a label for the experience itself, and it determines eligibility for a specific set of VA healthcare benefits and disability compensation. Roughly 41.5% of women veterans and 4% of men veterans report experiencing MST, and because men make up the majority of the military, the total number of male survivors is significant.
What MST Includes
The VA defines MST broadly. It covers any sexual activity during military service in which a service member was involved against their will. That includes being physically forced into sexual acts, being pressured through threats of negative consequences or promises of better treatment, and situations where someone could not consent because they were asleep or intoxicated.
MST also covers experiences that fall short of assault but still cause harm: unwanted sexual touching or grabbing (including during hazing), threatening remarks about a person’s body or sexual activities, and unwelcome sexual advances that felt threatening. The key factor is that the experience was unwanted and occurred during military service.
How MST Affects Health
Survivors of MST face a range of mental and physical health consequences that can persist for years. PTSD is the most commonly associated condition, and it often acts as a bridge to other problems. In women veterans, PTSD symptoms following MST have been shown to directly interfere with functioning at work, in family relationships, and in social life. In men, the impact of MST on daily functioning is shaped by depression, self-esteem, and whether they had prior experiences of sexual trauma.
Eating disorders are another documented consequence. Research has found that PTSD mediates the connection between MST and disordered eating behavior, including binge eating and purging. Sleep problems, suicidal behavior, and substance use are also common. Men who experienced MST show higher rates of suicide attempts, while women report more disrupted sleep.
The physical toll is real, too. Survivors frequently develop chronic pain, gastrointestinal problems, sexual difficulties, and weight or eating changes. These physical conditions often coexist with the psychological ones, making recovery more complex.
Barriers to Reporting and Seeking Care
MST is dramatically underreported. In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Defense received 8,195 reports of sexual assault involving service members, a 4% decrease from the prior year. Of those, about 6,973 were from service members reporting something that happened to them during service. But surveys consistently show the actual number of incidents is far higher than what gets reported.
The reasons survivors stay silent are layered. Shame and embarrassment top the list. Many survivors, particularly men, would rather try to forget the assault or handle it alone than disclose it to another person. Privacy concerns run deep: survivors worry about who might find out, especially in the close quarters of military life. Self-blame is common, with survivors questioning whether they somehow allowed the harassment or assault to happen. Military culture, with its emphasis on toughness and resilience, reinforces the belief that the experience isn’t serious enough to warrant help.
Male survivors face additional barriers. Many believe men should be less emotionally affected by assault than women because men are “tougher.” More than half of male veterans in one qualitative study said that admitting to MST would feel like a threat to their masculinity. Some feared providers would react with shock, confusion, or disgust, or would assume something about their sexual orientation. Others worried they simply wouldn’t be believed.
Free VA Healthcare for Survivors
The VA provides free treatment for any physical or mental health condition related to MST. The eligibility rules are deliberately relaxed compared to other VA benefits. You do not need to have reported the MST at the time it happened. You do not need proof that it occurred. You do not need a VA disability rating. The standard length-of-service requirements that apply to other VA healthcare do not apply here.
This care is available to veterans, most former service members, and even some people who received an Other Than Honorable discharge or served fewer than two years. Former National Guard and Reserve members with federal active-duty service or a service-connected disability who were discharged under honorable or other-than-honorable conditions also qualify. Current service members can access MST-related services, though some may need a Department of Defense referral.
Filing a Disability Claim
Survivors can file for VA disability compensation for conditions caused or worsened by MST. The VA recognizes that most sexual assaults in the military were never formally documented, so the evidence rules are flexible. If you don’t have direct evidence like a police report or military record, you can submit indirect evidence showing changes in your life or behavior after the trauma.
The types of indirect evidence the VA accepts include:
- Behavioral changes: shifts in work performance, relationship problems like divorce, substance use, unexplained financial decisions, or changes in eating or weight
- Psychological symptoms: anxiety, depression, panic attacks, feeling disconnected from others, suicidal thoughts
- Medical records: pregnancy tests, STI screenings, requests for transfer to a different duty assignment, appointments at health or counseling facilities without a clear diagnosis, or treatment for physical injuries around the time of the MST
The evidence does not need to draw a direct line between the MST and the changes. It just needs to show a pattern consistent with the experience.
Changes to Military Justice
How the military handles sexual assault cases has shifted significantly. Congress created the Office of Special Trial Counsel, a group of independent military prosecutors who now have exclusive authority to decide whether a reported offense qualifies as a covered crime, including sexual assault. This removed that decision from a survivor’s commanding officer, addressing a longstanding concern that commanders had too much influence over whether cases moved forward.
Special trial counsel can refer cases to court-martial, negotiate plea agreements, or dismiss charges. If they decline to prosecute, a commander can still pursue other disciplinary action but cannot send the case to a general or special court-martial on their own. In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Defense had sufficient evidence to take disciplinary action in 2,128 cases of individuals investigated for sexual assault allegations.