Military sexual trauma monologues

1 in 5 women have reported they were sexually assaulted while serving in the U.S. Military. This statistic reveals only the tip of the iceberg. Military sexual trauma (MST) is the term that the Department of Veterans Affairs uses to refer to sexual assault, domestic violence, or repeated threatening sexual harassment that occurred while in the military. While hundreds of thousands of US troops have been subjected to MST, it remains largely an invisible war. The Military Sexual Trauma Monologues are a new approach to educating veterans, civilians, community members and VA/DoD employees on identifying the physical, psycho-social, and mental health effects of MST and the social and occupational impairment of surviving veterans. The MST Monologues are a ‘narrative theatric depiction' of MST as an experienced reality. The monologues have been termed “culturally competent in their ability to speak the language of survivors". They are an approach to awareness education which puts the survivor-Veteran at the center of the educational content and experience. The MST Monologues have been created to provide a dramatic educational impact using a theatric narrative medium. What MST looks like across the lifespan, how it occurs in the military, long and short term effects on mental and physical health, and a glimpse of recovery. The MST Monologues provides a delivery modality for specific public health information that is unique, informative, and thoughtfully evocative.