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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Alleged military sex assault victims seek to block use of counseling records

By Annys Shin
The Washington Post
Originally published February 14, 2014

Here is an excerpt:

Over the past several months, lawyers for the alleged victim in the Naval Academy case have been trying to block a judge from reviewing years of counseling records. Their latest appeal is still pending, but Col. Daniel Daugherty, the judge in the trial of defendant Joshua Tate, has already reviewed some of them, and agreed to release portions to the defense.

Advocates for sexual assault victims say the practice of going after mental health records undercuts the military’s efforts to get more victims to come forward and thwarts their treatment.

“The victim needs to be assured of confidentiality to effectively be treated and to be effectively diagnosed,” said Nikki Charles, who directs therapy and case management for the Network for Victim Recovery of DC.  “If you chip away at that…their chances of recovery diminish.”

The entire article is here.