Begich Hosts Roundtable On Military Sexual Trauma Treatment

Senator Mark Begich addressed the issue of Military Sexual Trauma Treatment at a roundtable discussion at the YWCA in Anchorage last week.

Begich says one of the prevailing topics of conversation was around the need for more research into measures to prevent sexual assault.

“Doing a brain trauma is one thing; doing mental health service is another,” Begich said. “Sexual assault – trauma for sexual assault – is a whole [different] issue that we need to have some good, solid data to understand what’s the right approach for prevention.”

Another topic that came up is the gap in coverage availability between the military and civilian sectors. Begich says those are gaps that he and his counterparts in Washington DC can help fill.

“So, if you’re a military personnel that’s gone through sexual assault trauma, that you don’t have to say, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta go only to the military operations, maybe I can go see a civilian provider and get the same service,’ and not have to have any stigma or anything attached to it because you’re a military member,” he said.

Begich says he will take the ideas from the roundtable back to Washington DC and see what can be done through regulation and legislation.