National Veterans Foundation

Virginia, May 2007: The wife of a soldier deployed to Iraq called the Lifeline distraught. Herself a veteran, the woman confessed that during active duty training three years ago, she was raped twice on base by three different men in Virginia. She tried to report the incident and asked for help, but received none. A year later, she was raped twice more on the same base, and subsequently left the military. She also reported having been sexually abused as a child, and attempting suicide. She had recently overcome an addiction to alcohol, and was 7 months pregnant. Under the weight of her traumatic events, she had recently lost her job, and had confessed being suicidal in the days leading up to her call to the NVF. She was also concerned about the toll her condition was having on her baby, and her husband in a war zone. A female call center representative counseled the woman, lending an emotionally supportive ear, telling her how strong she had been to come this far, and encouraging her to seek treatment for her rape trauma. After nearly an hour of counsel, the woman’s breathing calmed, she began talking about how much she wanted to live, and agreed to begin attending a local counseling group for rape victims. Two days later, the client called back. Her demeanor was entirely different. She had resumed working with a local trauma professional, was attending support group meetings for rape victims, and said that the night after her call to NVF, she had the first good night’s sleep she could remember. She continues to check in with NVF staff for support, and reports that she, her husband, and her unborn child are all doing much better thanks to the support and guidance offered by the NVF Lifeline.