Noteboom The Law Firm

New Legislation Aims to Help Military Sexual Trauma Victims

March 31, 2011 - U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) has heard enough about the growing trend of military sexual trauma (MST) plaguing many young, female soldiers and veterans. She is introducing legislation that, if passed, will force the preservation of all evidence and documentation related to MST as it is reported and filed. It will also provide for more research into MST. Approximately 21% of female soldiers reported being a MST victim in 2008, making this one of the most pressing issues today's military must face.

Klobuchar's bill is drafted toward helping a specific audience. Victims of MST who do not report the attack after it happens yet attempt to seek benefits related to the attack later often find themselves denied. This bill will prevent that from happening. The bill does not face much opposition and has well-established bipartisan support. 

Strangely, the separate branches of the military do not adhere to a single set standard for how long forensic evidence from MSTs are retained before destruction. Such records are generally destroyed with 1-5 years of being created. Klobuchar's bill would create a single standard for record keeping and retention across the military. This would help every veteran needing to prove their attack occurred in order to draw Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits or should the victim need to produce documents for court.

This legislation is going to help victims of MST. Many victims will not come forward until they separate from the military to avoid backlash they would face while still on active duty. These dedicated soldiers should not be denied benefits later because they do not have a safe environment to report abuse within the military system.