Female Vets To Protest Closing Of VA Support Group

PHOENIX, AZ — A group of veterans plans to protest the Phoenix VA Medical Center's decision to discontinue their trauma support group, according to a report. The group of female veterans had experienced sexual assault and other types of trauma in the military and largely depended on the group, they say.

"They're telling us that we don't need this group anymore," said Army veteran Pamela Howell, according to 12News.

Dr. Maureen McCarthy, the Phoenix VA Medical Center's chief of staff, said "evidence-based practice" therapy, or EBP, has been shown to be more effective than support groups, the report says. Sexual assault in the military has become so common it's been given a name: military sexual trauma, or MST.

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"When something has worked for you, it's hard to let go of it," she said in the 12News report. "It's scary, and for these individuals, I understand what they're worried about."

According to Disabled American Veterans (DAV), an estimated one in four female veterans have experienced MST, and the estimate for men stands at one in 100.

Julie Cole-McCarter, an Army and Marine Corps veteran who says she was raped by multiple commanding officers, saw a tangible benefit to the group. "It gave me the ability to trust other women. They were not going to say, 'Oh no, that's your fault,'" she said, according to 12News.

See the 12News report here.