Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol 18(3), Mar 2026, 457-460; doi:10.1037/tra0001859
Military sexual trauma (MST) has gained national attention since the Navy Tailhook scandal, in which 90 service members reported being sexually assaulted and/or harassed by military personnel (Monteith et al., 2015). Screenings administered in the early 2000s revealed that approximately one in five women and one in 100 men seen in Veteran Affairs medical hospitals screen positive for MST (Schweitzer, 2013). The current literature has advanced our understanding of the prevalence of MST and the impact sexual trauma has on the overall health and well-being of MST survivors. Additionally, the literature on moral injury has expanded inquiry into how perpetration of and failure to prevent violence is associated with psychiatric distress and decreased functioning. However, there is a dearth of research on service members who perpetrate MST and those who fail to intervene or report sexual trauma, and the psychiatric effects of these actions or inactions on these individuals. This commentary explores the possible benefits and risks of expanding the assessment of MST to include perpetration and failing to intervene or report MST. We discuss this within the larger context of MST assessment, future research, and prevention and intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)