ADVICE TO SURVIVORS OF MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA OR MILITARY INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
Sue Davis, a SWAN member and Air Force veteran, has provided advice for survivors of military sexual trauma or military intimate partner violence in navigating through the military justice and civilian law enforcement systems. If you are a military sexual assault survivor or military intimate partner violence survivor:
Request copies of every record and report generated regarding your case. You may have to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Privacy Act (PA) request. Agencies have 20 business days to respond to a FOIA request. They rarely respond in that time frame. Appeal, appeal, appeal to get the response. Appeal if the information they provide is not complete.
Review your records for accuracy and request corrections wherever you identify an inaccuracy.
Even when the military justice system fails you, which likely it will, go forward with the Family Services interviews and process. If your perpetrator is still on active duty and the Family Services system recommends counseling, the commander can order/require the perpetrator to participate in counseling. It may not help as most abusers continue to abuse; however, it is one more piece of documentation.
If it seems that the fix is in for the base level system and you can appeal to a higher headquarters off-base, do it. You’ll get more traction working with people who don’t personally know and work with your perpetrator. The military justice system doesn’t have an appeal process but the Family Services Central Registry system does. Use it.
If possible, report assaults to civilian law enforcement first. Military investigators are supposed to advise you that you can choose whether the case is managed by civilian or military authorities. Civilian authorities may have right of first refusal to take your case. Civilian authorities don’t care about an individual’s rank and may be more receptive to a fair and complete investigation. I opted to go with the military investigation and it was the wrong decision in my case. They delayed so long that the civilian statute of limitations for simple assault expired, before I realized the military justice system wasn’t going to hold him accountable.
When I reported I was advised not to attach to the outcome. This sounded awfully pessimistic to me at the time. Years into this process, I now see that whatever the military chose to do to my assailant would not fix the lasting effects of my trauma. The genie is out of the bottle. They could jail him, take away his birthday or retirement, but it wouldn’t fix my trauma. I have to work through that on my own. Standing up, speaking your truth, and demanding to be heard gives you back your voice and your power. Early on, it can be so very difficult to speak, and the military will do its best to silence you, to make you feel invisible or like an emotional wreck. Their goal is to make you go away. In their eyes, YOU are their problem. If you never spoke up, there wouldn’t be a problem. They don’t see your perpetrator as the problem. You are generating work for them, angst in the unit as you upset the status quo, etc. But you volunteered to serve your nation. You have a right to a safe working and living environment and to be all you can be. You did nothing wrong. Your abuser chose to abuse you. Speak your truth; find a counselor and some good friends to lean on as you go through this process. It will be difficult, but worth it in the end. As more and more of us stand up to this, change will happen, and we can make it better for the next generation.
If you have any questions about this post, you can reach out to the author at suedavishomes[at]gmail[dot]com.
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