N.J. center to aid assaulted female vets

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A Veterans Administration treatment center is set to open in Bernards Township, N.J., to help female veterans who have been sexually assaulted.

The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger said Sunday that with the number of assault and harassment cases involving female soldiers increasing dramatically, the new center will provide treatment to those suffering from a condition known as military sexual trauma.

The healthcare facility, which opens its doors in December, will be the first residential VA center that focuses on the increasingly prevalent condition.

The center was created following the findings of an ongoing VA screening process that found 20 percent of female soldiers leaving the military encountered a form of sexual trauma during their service, the report said.

Susan McCutcheon, who heads up the administration's military sexual trauma programs, said the new site will especially benefit those women suffering trauma during war overseas.

"There really is no safe line in the current war. More women are being subjected to both of these traumas," the VA official told the Star-Ledger. "We are aware of that, and we are prepared for that."