MST Monologues

US Army Veteran – Member of Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Ok Currently working for the Roseburg VA Healthcare System as a Military Sexual Trauma Social Worker at the Eugene VA Clinic. Member, Governor’s Task Force on Women Veterans Healthcare in Oregon, years in the field of social work – Drug and Alcohol counseling/preventionist/sexual trauma.

13 Years as Military Sexual Trauma Counselor at VA Roseburg Medical Center Women Veteran Program Manager Roseburg Healthcare System: Overseeing Services for Women Veterans at: Roseburg Medical Center and Clinics in Eugene, N. Bend, and Brookings, OR and Crescent City, CA. An “Extremely Rural Area” - Member Governors Task Force on Women Veterans Healthcare Member Attorney Generals Advisory Council - Domestic and Sexual Violence Author: Lifelines: Women, Male Violence and Personal Safety Peer Reviewed Publications: MST Practice Environment and Organizational Support; Frontlines of Domestic Violence; Addressing Cumulative Trauma in Female Veterans Lead/Consultant: Oregon Violence Against Women Prevention Plan: A guide and framework for funding, practice, research, and policy in Oregon - Centers for Disease Control. 35 years working in efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault and domestic violence against women.

“Evidence suggests that the problems and the after affects of MST continue to be a leading health consequence of military service for women”. ~ Carol Turner

We can view “gaps” as unavailable needed intervention services in response to MST for survivors of MST We can also view “gaps” as the need for primary prevention – the prevention of MST before it occurs. We view both military and civilian communities as having critical gaps in accurate education and understanding of MST. The MST Monologues seek to utilize narrative education – ‘story telling’ as a means of promoting both prevention, intervention and post- vention efforts.

Both the VA and DoD have launched efforts to increase awareness of MST with brochures, posters, media messaging. Yet the subject and the survivors remain – largely invisible and marginalized. After years in the field, as well as conducting and reviewing research, we recognized a need to develop additional new methods of reaching both civilian and military communities. We sought to harness the power of ‘narratives’ to educate and engage individuals, systems, and communities to recognize and respond to MST.

The MST Monologues are a new approach to educating veterans, non-veterans, VA Staff and community members on identifying the physical and mental health effects of military sexual trauma, and educating staff and the public on social and occupational impairment on those veterans. The MST Monologues have been developed as ‘a culturally competent’ approach to education which puts the survivor- Veteran at the center of the experience and the educational content. This is a ‘Veteran Centered’ approach to increasing awareness and knowledge of MST survivors experienced reality. The MST Monologues weave histories, research, and experiential knowledge into a cohesive whole - a story shared and told.

Narratives are pervasive and hold fundamental appeal across cultures and ages. Narratives provide links, connections and meaning to human activity. Narratives provide a coherent structure that promotes learning and reflection. Narratives can move audiences, through empathetic listening, to think and act in ways that benefit advocacy for a subject or individual (MST). And, Narratives give a voice to those who may not otherwise be heard.

Today we will share with you ‘voices’ of women Veterans – The shared stories, the manifestations, the longitudinal effects, and the lifetimes of survival after MST – revealed through our presentation of MST Monologues.

Monologue Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan Operation Iraq Freedom (OIF) - Iraq

Monologue Vietnam Era Female Veteran

Monologue Post Vietnam Female Veteran

Monologue WWII Female Veteran