The forgotten generation : older female veterans who experienced military sexual trauma before it had a name still struggle to find words

Abstract

Female veterans who are currently in midlife or older are more likely to have experienced sexual trauma while serving in the military, and more likely to suffer the negative health consequences associated with it. Yet many older veterans didn’t speak out about their experiences until decades later, after years of suffering silently in the shadows with the devastating psychological and physical consequences of military sexual trauma. Today, many older women veterans are coming to terms with their experience as they navigate through the unique and challenging phase of mid-life. They are also seeking the resources and benefits that weren’t available to them when they made the often abrupt and rocky transition from military to civilian life decades go.