This study is being conducted by Michigan State University PhD student Makayla Burden and is funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Makayla has her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, has training and prior experience conducting research on sexual violence, and is a military spouse.
The goal of this study is to understand military sexual trauma (MST) experiences of female veterans currently living in Michigan. MST is sexual harassment or sexual assault experienced during military service. Importantly, the identity or characteristics of the perpetrator (e.g., civilian, service member, spouse) or the victim-survivor (e.g., sex, gender), if the servicemember was on or off duty, and if the incident occurred on military property does not matter in this designation. In other words, all sexual harassment and sexual assault is considered MST if the victim-survivor was serving in the military at the time of the incident.
The study includes two parts: an online survey and an optional virtual interview. The survey will take approximately 45 minutes. The optional interview will take place virtually using an audio/video software (e.g., Zoom, FaceTime, Teams). The interview will take approximately 60 to 90 minutes. Your participation will be completely confidential.
The risks of participating in this study are minimal, however, participants may experience emotional and/or psychological distress in answering questions and discussing MST. While you may not directly benefit from this study, your participation will provide much needed insight into the sexual violence experienced by female service members and what the State of Michigan can do for victim-survivors. Additionally, your participation will be compensated with a $15 e-gift card for the online survey portion and $40 e-gift card for the optional interview portion. You will receive a link to Tremendous, where you will be able to select a gift card from over 2,000 options, within 1-2 business days of completing each portion.