To readers who read my page in search of answers, I have some messages for you. First, it's perfectly normal to feel confused, to feel angry, to wonder, and a sense of what the heck! As someone whose been through all stages of inquiry, to finally forming the conclusion, yes, I was raped; yes, it was wrong; yes, I do matter; yes, this is affecting me; yes, this is affecting my loved ones through me; and yes, I want and need the consequences to stop producing negative results in my life, I say, "Hello"! Welcome. No, you are not alone.
No, one, person will have all of the answers on your journey of discovery.
But, a good, simple place to start is on Facebook. Facebook is easy to search, free, and several of the groups which discuss the topic of military sexual trauma are open. Several are closed.
Here are some sites where you will meet other people who've, believe it or not, been through similarily unbelievable, tangled situations as you have, while serving in the military.
And just like you, they did nothing in their lives before the incident, to deserve what happened to them.
Today, survivors are so fortunate that we are able to communicate via social media. Please consider these sites and share them. Stay tuned to my page for further updates to these lists.
Blessings to you.
Here are the links:
SERVICE Documentary OPEN Facebook Group
The moderators of this site produced a compelling, raw and real
documentary about military women who served in the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and who are now disabled, and several
were also victims of Military Sexual Trauma.
The people at SERVICE have developed a bevy of social media platforms
for us to interact with each other, as we search for support and solutions
at our own pace.
Protect Our Defenders OPEN Facebook Site
The moderators of this site are the people who run the
non-profit Protect Our Defenders which is located in
Washington D.C.
Their goal is to educate survivors of legislative solutions
to the problem of military sexual trauma, and to provide
information and links to professionals who are in the fight.
This is the site to go to if you're at a place where you'd
like to take action to stop the current trend in the Department
of Defense.
SERVICE Documentary CLOSED Facebook Group
As with the open group, this group is available to any women
(or men) who are have experienced military sexual trauma, or
who are disabled incident to service.
The Miseducation of Liz Trotta OPEN Facebook Group
This group was developed after the Fox News commentator
Liz Trotta spoke out about military sexual trauma, stating that
women who are raped in service should have expected it.
The group is a good place to read about and lend your
opinion, perspective, to a variety of media products
that are military sexual trauma related.
VetWow OPEN Facebook Site
Susan Avila-Smith oversees VetWow and moderates this group.
Ms. Avila-Smith is "the pioneer" in women veteran advocacy and military
sexual trauma advocacy. As a survivor herself, she has helped literally thousands of women
to file for and win Veterans Administration disability claims.
CLOSED Male Survivors of MST Facebook Site
This Facebook site is run by Brian McWilliams who recently
decided to take action in support of Male MST survivors.
This group is closed and it can be a good first step in finding
other men who've been hurt by incidents of male military sexual
trauma. Many brave men like Brian, are tossing their hats in the ring
in telling their stories to help other men. Right now, half of all
MST survivors being treated are male.
SWAN Facebook Site
Service Women Action Network is one of the newest veteran organizations
and was started by a female Marine Captain.
This site is moderated by SWAN staff. SWAN allows, and often encourages,
anyone to comment on the stories they post each day. In addition, SWAN
allows people to post status's with information that you feel might be of
service to their members. SWAN supports the fight against MST.
