“Who Are You Going to Tell? Who’s Going to Believe You?”: Women’s Experiences Disclosing Military Sexual Trauma

Researchers have identified disclosure as an important part of sexual assault recovery among civilian survivors. However, few researchers have examined the process of military sexual trauma (MST) disclosure, including the barriers and facilitators, positive and negative reactions from disclosure recipients, and positive and negative impacts of disclosure on survivors. Twenty-three women veteran MST survivors completed semi-structured qualitative interviews that assessed disclosure experiences; responses were coded using directed content analysis. Among the 20 women veterans who disclosed MST (87%), most volunteered information that they had disclosed to informal (74%, n = 17), military (70%, n = 16), and medical sources (52%, n = 12). Among women who reported that they disclosed MST to military personnel, all reported at least one negative reaction to the disclosure, including 50% (n = 8) who reported perceived retaliation for disclosure. Women who reported they disclosed to military personnel identified some barriers (e.g., feared consequences) that women who disclosed to non-military personnel did not. We suggest that the responses of recipients to disclosure may contribute to the impact on participants, including dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the military. We discuss unique aspects of the military context that may contribute to negative reactions. Practitioners can use this information to increase empathy and understanding of the complexity of disclosure and to help survivors process and contextualize these experiences during therapy. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/036168431879678