A new study by the American Psychological Association indicates that a lot more military men are being raped by other men than reported by the Pentagon, chiefly because of the stigma attached to such sexual assaults.
In a release issued Tuesday, the APA stated:
“Rates of military sexual trauma among men who served in the military may be as much as 15 times higher than has been previously reported, largely because of barriers associated with stigma, beliefs in myths about male rape, and feelings of helplessness.”
A report on sexual assaults by The Defense Department is released twice a year. Internet emailed surveys reveal that more men than women turn out to be sexual assault victims.
According to The Washington Times, “women make up about 14.5 percent of the 1.4 million active force.”
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Even though the most recent Pentagon survey by the Rand Corps is anonymous, a lot of men are still hesitant to disclose the fact that they were raped.
The APA reached this conclusion by surveying a random assortment of 180 combat veterans, leading them to believe the sexual assault rate is 15 times higher than the Pentagon reports.
According to researchers:
“Male veterans who reported being sexually assaulted while serving their country suffered more severe symptoms of PTSD and depression, had higher rates of suicidal thoughts and were more likely to enroll in outpatient mental health treatment than those who were not assaulted.”
In 2013, the Pentagon reported that 26,000 service members were the victims of sexual assaults in a year, and 14,000 of those victims were men.
The true number for military men sexually assaulted in service, if the APA findings are correct, is approximately 210,000 sexual assaults per year.