Community Case Study_ Part 3_Greer

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MILITARY MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE 1 Community Based Approach to Military Male Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Paul B. Greer School of Behavioral Science Liberty University Author Note Paul Brian Greer I have no known conflict of interest to disclose. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Paul Brian Greer. Email: pbgreer@liberty.edu

MILITARY MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE 2 Abstract When it comes to prevention and support for this unique military population, religious and veterans’ organizations, social services and military supported services are often not aligned in planning or support efforts thereby leading to redundancy in services or creating gaps in service to the veteran and military population. Since the COVID pandemic, the mental health system has been overtaxed among the military and community health systems leading to greater outsourcing and increase of military chaplain care to fill the gap. One trend that has emerged is male sexual assault victim self-reporting to chaplains. Military chaplains are unique positioned to offer pastoral care, but are often ill equipped for this type of service, as are many community support resources such as churches and veterans support organizations. As such, a sociological-ecological model that ties together military and community resources in a coordinated community response as a coalition to organize prevention and response, as well as education and advocacy programs is critical to assist with the unmet needs of military male sexual assault victims. Keywords : military, veteran, male sexual assault, community-based approaches, veteran support organization partnerships, community partnerships, community coalition, prevention, advocacy, religious support, moral injury, triphasic model of trauma recovery, spiritually integrated psychotherapy, forgiveness therapy.

MILITARY MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE 3 Community Based Approach to Military Male Sexual Assault Prevention and Response As a provider in the military-centric community of Hampton Roads, Virginia, which includes Langley Air Force Base, Army’s Fort Story and Fort Eustis, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Naval Air Station Oceana and Dam Neck Annex, Joint Expeditionary Based Little Creek, and Naval Station Norfolk which is the largest naval base in the world. According to the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance (2022), the military represents approximately 45% of the region's economy and supports over 315,000 jobs. In terms of military personnel, there are over 87,000 active-duty service members, over 25,000 civilian personnel, and over 80,000 military family members living in the Hampton Roads region yielding a military population of over 192,000. As a result, the community and military are inextricably linked and mutually interdependent, especially when caring for the large population of military members and their dependents. Lack of Coordination and Outsourcing However, when it comes to prevention and support for this unique military population, religious and veteran service organizations (VSO), local government based social services and military social support and medical support services are often not aligned in planning or support efforts, thereby leading to redundancy in services or creating gaps in service to the veteran and military population. Additionally, since the COVID pandemic, the mental health system has been overtaxed the military and community health systems with excessive wait times and increase in virtual care (Wosik et al, 2020). This has led to military referrals and outsourcing of uniformed service member mental health care through the TRICARE network and Military One Source for self-referrals. According to a study published in the Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, in 2017, the average wait time for a mental health appointment within the TRICARE

MILITARY MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE 4 network was 22.6 days (Wang et al., 2017). To address this issue, TRICARE outsourced mental health care to civilian providers, resulting in a reduction in wait times to an average of 5.5 days (Wang et al., 2017). As such, in Hampton Roads and military centric communities at large, community partnerships and coalitions are critical to assist with the unmet and under supported mental health needs for military members, especially military male sexual assault survivors. Chaplains Filling the Gap Chaplains are members of the military who are trained to provide religious and spiritual support to military personnel and their families. In addition to their religious duties, chaplains can also serve as counselors to military personnel who may be struggling with personal or professional issues. According to research, mental health issues are prevalent among service members and as a result, it's crucial to provide adequate support to service members with shortfalls in mental health caregivers embedded in units, and one way to provide such support is by having more chaplains (Dyer et al., 2019). The naval service in the Hampton Roads area in particular is looking to significantly increase the number of chaplains to help support mental health efforts and support to service members (Wilson, 2023). Military chaplains offer a unique resource to male sexual assault victims not found in the local community. Military chaplains have the unique benefit in the Department of Defense as not being required to abide by mandatory reporting requirements of any kind, including compliance with local and state law requirements while performing their duties as federal employees, and have unlimited confidentiality under the clergy penitent tradition and protections of military law (Wilson, 2023). As such, victims of trauma and sexual assault primarily seek out chaplain support services first before other resources knowing their story is kept strictly confidential and can avoid revictimization often associated with reporting. This lends to a unique problem and

MILITARY MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE 5 need for specialized training for military chaplains to avoid doing harm for this unique and sensitive population in their most critical time of need. As the leader in the military chaplain community, I can attest first-hand that chaplains are primarily trained in theology with a minimum of nine hours of pastoral counseling in a Master of Divinity degree. In the chaplain community, the array of caregiving competencies varies from those with the minimum education standard, to those with clinical chaplain residency education, board certification and others holding clinical counseling licensure and credentials. The wide array of pastoral care and education competencies is likewise mimicked in the local community among clergy. This creates a unique challenge for chaplain and pastoral care competencies lacking consistency in the standard of care that is delivered to male sexual assault victims among community clergy. This issue lends to the need for a coordinated community clergy response and educational program to increase awareness and competencies for religious professionals supporting military male sexual assault victims. Emerging Problem Further, since the COVID pandemic, not only has there been an increase in mental health service utilization, but a trend is also emerging among chaplain reporting with increases in sexual assault disclosure by victims to military chaplains. Specifically, there has been a unique increase in male service members disclosing sexual assault prior to entry into military service when seeking primary services for depression, anxiety, and skill-building in response to maladaptive coping and increases in legal issues from destructive behaviors such as alcohol and substance abuse, DUIs and self-mutilation. This trend is overtaxing chaplain competencies and the need to increase education and skill-building. Further, chaplains are struggling to find unique collaborative support services for client referral and have identified gaps in military and

MILITARY MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE 6 community-based partnerships for victim support. As such, there is a need to develop a coalition of support for male sexual assault victims from the sociological-ecological model with direct and indirect approaches to cooperative community-based outreach, advocacy, prevention and care. Description of the Population It is important to note that sexual assault can happen to anyone, regardless of their gender or age. However, men are often less likely to report sexual assault than women due to a variety of factors including stigma, shame, and fear of not being believed (Davies et al., 2002). In general, men may be less likely to report sexual assault compared to women and may take longer to come forward due to attitudes about masculinity and the societal stigma and shame associated with male sexual assault (Davies et al., 2002). According to a study by Dr. John Briere and colleagues (2004), the average age of men reporting sexual trauma is around 52 years old, thus lending to the hypothesis that male sexual assaults are significantly underreported and there is a significant male population suffering in silence and not receiving the care needed leading to maladaptive coping impacting society at large. According to the Department of Defense's "Population Representation in the Military Services" report as of September 30, 2020, the United States Military is 85.6% male (Department of Defense, n.d. ). This uniquely patriarchal organization with its cultural norms of toughness and compartmentalization of stressors for mission prioritization does not lend itself to encourage self- reporting or help-seeking among victims dealing with the effects of sexual trauma. Identification of Need To determine any identification of need, there are several steps and approaches to identification of need. These include social indicators as noted among chaplain caregivers as an initial indicator in Hampton Roads. Additional assessments is needed, but may include

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