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World Press Photo 2016: Long-Term Projects winner
Updated
Feb 17, 2017, 10:06 AM
Published
Feb 08, 2017, 04:59 AM
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https://str.sg/wcbW
Melissa A. Ramon moves with her 13-year-old son Sam into a motel she calls ‘The Jungle’. Melissa spent nine years in the Air Force, and suffers from MST and PTSD after sexual abuse from her training instructor and fellow airmen. Since her discharge, she has sought help from the VA and several veteran NGOs, but feels they keep denying her claims, and putting up obstacles. Melissa has frequently been homeless, and has trouble finding shelter because women’s refuges don’t allow boys over 12. She moves with Sam from one unsuitable motel to another.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
Melissa A. Ramon cries in the waiting room of an event held to offer safe retreat for homeless veterans. Melissa spent nine years in the Air Force, and suffers from MST and PTSD after sexual abuse from her training instructor and fellow airmen. Since her discharge, she has sought help from the VA and several veteran NGOs, but feels they keep denying her claims, and putting up obstacles. Melissa has frequently been homeless, and has trouble finding shelter because women’s refuges don’t allow boys over 12, and she has a 13-year-old son. She moves with her son, Sam, from one unsuitable motel to another.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
Elisha Morrow and Tiffany Berkland were sexually harassed by the same company commander during basic training for the coastguard. Elisha thought about faking suicide to get away from him. They did not report the harassment for fear of being kicked out, but came forward when they met a third victim. When their case went to trial, they met a fourth young woman who had recently been raped by the same company commander, and felt guilty not having come forward sooner. They sit in their hotel room after attending the Truth and Justice Summit on MST in Washington, DC.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
Melissa Bania hangs a banner inscribed with the story of her rape on a footbridge across from Naval Station San Diego, in California. MST survivors had gathered in San Diego to bring attention to rape in the US military.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
Veteran Darlene Matthews has been living in her car for more than two years, while she waits for a housing voucher from the VA. Darlene joined the military in 1976, to escape an abusive home life, but was upset to discover that the army was not a safe place. After her discharge, she became depressed, and her life went into a downward spiral.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
Gary Noling stands in his daughter Carrie’s bedroom, on the anniversary of her suicide. She drank herself to death following severe retaliation after reporting her rape to superiors.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
Debra Filter was raped with several other recruits at a boot camp graduation party they were forced to attend in 1978. For a long time she suffered from PTSD, and eventually left the army. She has been homeless for ten years and wrangling with Veterans Affairs for benefits for decades, but now has a VA housing voucher for a studio apartment.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
Connie Sue Foss was raped three times during a seven-year military career. She suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and finds it difficult to hold down a job and care for herself and her daughter. She bears scars from punching a window during a PTSD episode, and holds a molar she lost from grinding her teeth at night.
PHOTO: MARY F. CALVERT
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WORLD PRESS PHOTO 2016
WORLD PRESS PHOTO
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