Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center
Creating Pathways to Healing: VA’s MST Services
Overcome the Pain of MST
So, what is MST? Military Sexual Trauma, or MST, is the term used by VA to refer to experiences of sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that a Veteran experienced during his or her military service. The definition used by the VA comes from Federal law (Title 38 U.S. Code 1720D) and is “psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the Veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training.” Sexual harassment is further defined as "repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character.”
Know the Facts
Both men and women Veterans of different races, sexual orientations, and every service era report having experienced MST. It is good practice for providers to behave in MST-sensitive ways toward every Veteran you interact with, even if you don’t know if he or she has experienced MST.
Every VA health care facility provides free services for mental and physical health conditions related to MST. Veterans do not need documentation of their experiences and some Veterans may be able to receive MST-related services even if they are not eligible for other VA care. Veterans do not need to have a service connected VA disability rating to get MST care.
Every facility has an MST Coordinator to serve as a point person for Veterans and staff on MST-related issues.
For more information or assistance regarding MST (Military Sexual Trauma), Spouse Abuse, or Domestic Violence, please feel free to contact the MST Coordinator
Patty Chaverra-Catania
(304) 623-3461 Ext. 3905
Bill Townsend
Ext. 3581.
You can also visit the MST Resource Homepage
If you are in an abusive relationship and want to leave your abusive partner, you should call the police or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-799-SAFE.
