A Black Rose

Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like no one will believe you. That's why A Black Rose exists: to provide an outlet for survivors of MST to speak out and show the world that their story is real. This story is from a real survivor who has made the courageous step of sharing their experience. Please be advised that this testimonial contains descriptions of rape, assault, and harassment and has not been edited for any other purpose than to protect the privacy of the survivor.
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I was a Hospital Corpsman, Second Class Petty Officer, stationed in both active and reserve duty units and hospitals. I was raped, subjected to sexual harassment, and refused to be a "sex kitten" for a senior enlisted staff throughout my time I served.

For refusal to submit to these humiliating advances, I was denied entrance into an advanced medical training program, unable to reapply for fear that the same person who did screening interviews would still be on staff at the training site. I was denied transfer to a duty station on my "wish list" as I would not "fill in" for a senior enlisted staff member because his wife "wasn't able to give him sex anymore". My first assignment after Hospital Corpsman training included collateral duty of escorting high ranking military Pentagon staff from one appointment to another at the hospital and I was required to wear my dress blues uniform skirt instead of slacks as "they deserved to be pleasantly distracted during they outpatient visits" at the hospital. My rape involved giving birth to my youngest son while on active duty. I was told "it would hurt my career and also the father of my son if I made a fuss about the whole incident". I struggled until I was about 5 1/2 months pregnant to separate how I felt about my rapist and not cast my feelings onto an innocent unborn child who didn't ask to be brought into this world under those circumstances. I am now 100% disabled as a veteran due to persistent, severe problems with my sexual trauma PTSD. I served active duty, then reserve duty. There are many more service women than myself who have gone through what I did and worse. When will this ever end for us as women in the military?
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Again, we thank this person for being so brave and helping us to draw attention to this issue. If you have a story to share, consider requesting a rose. Your story will only be posted with your express permission, after which it will be posted anonymously. If you do not wish to share any details of your situation, we will still honor your request for a rose.