2016 Photo Contest, Long-Term Projects, 1st prize

Sexual Assault in America's Military

Photographer

Mary F. Calvert

27 May, 2015

Melissa A. Ramon cries in the waiting room of an event held to offer safe retreat for homeless veterans. Melissa spent nine years in the Air Force, and suffers from MST and PTSD after sexual abuse from her training instructor and fellow airmen. Since her discharge, she has sought help from the VA and several veteran NGOs, but feels they keep denying her claims, and putting up obstacles. Melissa has frequently been homeless, and has trouble finding shelter because women’s refuges don’t allow boys over 12, and she has a 13-year-old son. She moves with her son, Sam, from one unsuitable motel to another.

The incidence of sexual assault on women by their colleagues in the US Armed Forces is high. Many women see reporting attacks to their commands as difficult or futile. Very few sexual assaults are reported and only a fraction of those get to court. The trauma of a sexual assault, and the ensuing emotional distress, may lead to long-term personal issues. The effects of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) include drug and alcohol dependence, homelessness, and an increased risk of suicide. Challenges for women veterans are not always met by existing vet programs. Women veterans form the fastest growing segment of the homeless population of the US, and are four times more likely to be homeless as other women.

The photographer, who comes from a military family, made it her mission to document the lives of MST survivors, and to keep the issue talked about. She learned that they formed a network of support for each other, but that homeless survivors were a hidden population, who rarely spoke to others about their experiences.

About the photographer

Mary F. Calvert

Calvert believes that journalists have a duty to shine a light into the deepest recesses of the human experience and provide a mirror for society to examine itself. Mary has b...

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/250
Focal length
200.0 mm
F-Stop
2.8
ISO
3200
Camera
Nikon D3

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