The House of Representatives recently passed a bill to attempt to make it simpler for veterans to prove sexual assault claims. The bill is name for Ruth Moore, a Navy veteran who spent 23 years pursuing her claim for disability compensation benefits as a result of sexual assault.
Kellie Lunney’s Article
There is an excellent article by Kellie Lunney on the pending legislation that notes that more than 85,000 men and women received outpatient treatment in 2012 for conditions related to military sexual trauma. Since many incidents of sexual assault are not immediately reported, they may not appear in a veteran’s service record. This makes the evidentiary requirements for proving sexual assault claims extremely important. The House bill and a bill currently pending in the Senate seek to relax the VA’s current evidentiary standards to place them more in line with the recently amended evidentiary standards for PTSD claims.
