In Fiscal Year 2023, an estimated 6.8 percent of women and 1.3 percent of men serving on active duty were victims of military sexual trauma (MST), meaning thousands of servicemembers experience MST each year. Many survivors have experienced barriers in accessing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits and care due to prescriptive and narrow eligibility, leading to an unjust denial of benefits. 

The Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support (SAVES) Act of 2025 would expand the evidentiary standard for survivors applying for disability benefits with the VA and improve access to benefits and care. Many servicemembers never report their MST to official channels, meaning it may be difficult to find evidence. This legislation would authorize non-Department of Defense evidence such as statements from family members, roommates, other veterans, and clergy members. 

The SAVES Act would also expand the standards to all mental health conditions related to MST, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. The legislation would also allow a survivor to choose to have their compensation and pension exam performed by a VA medical official rather than a contract examiner. Lastly, the bill would allow former members of the Guard or Reserves to receive MST-related mental health counseling from the VA.

PVA Position:

We need Congress to pass the Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act of 2025 (S. 1245/H.R. 2576). To address the lasting psychological and physiological impacts of MST, VA must improve the benefits process for survivors and improve coordination with health care providers, to ensure that MST survivors are treated with the care and dignity they deserve. This legislation would expand and improve access to benefits and care for MST survivors while expanding approved evidentiary support for these services.