GQ magazine writer seeking to interview male MST survivors

natepenn

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most-victims-of-military-sex-assault-men.jpeg

Hi,
I'm a writer at GQ, and I'm at work on a major feature story on male MST. Over the past couple of weeks, I've spoken with a number of men who suffered MST during the course of their service. They range in age from their early twenties to their late sixties, and they've come to me through several avenues. The organization Protect Our Defenders has been very helpful, as has the V.A. in Salt Lake City. The activist and MST survivor Brian Lewis has been kind enough to connect me with several of his peers.

The goals of the story are to raise public awareness of MST (and, I hope, to begin the process of destigmatizing it) and to connect survivors with treatment resources.

If you're a male MST survivor and you're open to sharing your story, I would greatly value the opportunity to talk with you over the phone. In addition to hearing about your specific experience of MST, I'd very much like to know your thoughts on several other important questions: on what it is in military culture that might give rise to these attacks; on why the military resists punishing attackers; and on what kinds of steps might be taken to eradicate sexual assault from military life.

I should mention that you don't have to use your real name in the article if you prefer not to. Similarly, we can work together to change any details in your story which you believe may be identifying--dates, places, ranks, etc.

I'd of course be glad to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your consideration, and please feel free to contact me at nathaniel.penn [at] gmail [dot] com --best regards, Nathaniel Penn, correspondent, GQ
 
I think this is an important story and its reporting can help both those who have been assaulted and authorities in addressing the problem. Thanks, Nathaniel, for reporting on this story.
 
most-victims-of-military-sex-assault-men.jpeg

Hi,
I'm a writer at GQ, and I'm at work on a major feature story on male MST. Over the past couple of weeks, I've spoken with a number of men who suffered MST during the course of their service. They range in age from their early twenties to their late sixties, and they've come to me through several avenues. The organization Protect Our Defenders has been very helpful, as has the V.A. in Salt Lake City. The activist and MST survivor Brian Lewis has been kind enough to connect me with several of his peers.

The goals of the story are to raise public awareness of MST (and, I hope, to begin the process of destigmatizing it) and to connect survivors with treatment resources.

If you're a male MST survivor and you're open to sharing your story, I would greatly value the opportunity to talk with you over the phone. In addition to hearing about your specific experience of MST, I'd very much like to know your thoughts on several other important questions: on what it is in military culture that might give rise to these attacks; on why the military resists punishing attackers; and on what kinds of steps might be taken to eradicate sexual assault from military life.

I should mention that you don't have to use your real name in the article if you prefer not to. Similarly, we can work together to change any details in your story which you believe may be identifying--dates, places, ranks, etc.

I'd of course be glad to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your consideration, and please feel free to contact me at nathaniel.penn [at] gmail [dot] com --best regards, Nathaniel Penn, correspondent, GQ

You may also want to get ahold of SWAN (if you haven't already). They also have males in their ranks.

Yes! And thank-you for wanting to get this out to the GQ readership. It's way past time to shed the light on this dark corner of military experiences.

V/R,
nwlivewire
 
Thank you, Jason and livewire. I should mention that I'm trying to explore other corners of this story as well. In particular, I'd be interested in speaking with a commanding officer who once received but didn't adequately investigate a sexual-assault claim by a male victim and who is feeling conscience-stricken about this. To hear this officer talk about the system and its shortcomings would be valuable for the story. Once again, this officer wouldn't have to use his/her real name in the story, if he/she prefers.
 
I am so happy you are doing this story for our brothers in arms. Throughout my career I have known male Soldiers come to me with their stories, and when I tell them to report, they very rarely report. I think they are more afraid of the system then women are, and that is very sad. --- Thank you so much for helping my brothers. They need a voice too.
 
most-victims-of-military-sex-assault-men.jpeg

Hi,
I'm a writer at GQ, and I'm at work on a major feature story on male MST. Over the past couple of weeks, I've spoken with a number of men who suffered MST during the course of their service. They range in age from their early twenties to their late sixties, and they've come to me through several avenues. The organization Protect Our Defenders has been very helpful, as has the V.A. in Salt Lake City. The activist and MST survivor Brian Lewis has been kind enough to connect me with several of his peers.

The goals of the story are to raise public awareness of MST (and, I hope, to begin the process of destigmatizing it) and to connect survivors with treatment resources.

If you're a male MST survivor and you're open to sharing your story, I would greatly value the opportunity to talk with you over the phone. In addition to hearing about your specific experience of MST, I'd very much like to know your thoughts on several other important questions: on what it is in military culture that might give rise to these attacks; on why the military resists punishing attackers; and on what kinds of steps might be taken to eradicate sexual assault from military life.

I should mention that you don't have to use your real name in the article if you prefer not to. Similarly, we can work together to change any details in your story which you believe may be identifying--dates, places, ranks, etc.

I'd of course be glad to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your consideration, and please feel free to contact me at nathaniel.penn [at] gmail [dot] com --best regards, Nathaniel Penn, correspondent, GQ
I will talk to you if you still want to
 
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