A SURVEY OF SEXUAL TRAUMA TREATMENT PROVIDED BY VA MEDICAL-CENTERS

In 1992 Congress mandated the Department of Veterans Affairs to provid e treatment to veterans traumatized by sexual assault experienced duri ng active military duty. A 1995 survey of how VA medical centers had r esponded to this mandate indicated that 51 percent of 136 centers had established a sexual trauma treatment team, Teams treated a mean +/- S D of 5.5 +/- 10 patients a week, and newly referred veterans waited a mean of 3.3 +/- 4 days for evaluation. Teams varied in the discipline mis of providers, training, organizational structure, services offered , and caseload. Medical centers without dedicated treatment teams offe red nonspecialized services to sexually traumatized veterans or offere d community referrals for sexual trauma treatment services.