'I just pulled up my pants and went back to work': Women veterans reveal shocking sexual abuse they suffered in the US armed forces

A new photo essay by award-winning photojournalist Mary F Calvert offers an unvarnished glimpse into the lives of those women who served in the armed forces only to find themselves without a roof over their head in their post-military lives. They tell horrific stories of sexual assault at the hands of their male comrades and superiors as well as the subsequent post-traumatic stress that impairs their personal lives and economic well-being. The victims include Alishaa Dell (center), 25, who is still not ready to talk about her Military Sexual Trauma (MST). She cannot even afford to break up with her boyfriend, who she lives with, because she has nowhere else to go. Melissa Ramon (bottom left, clutching her US Air Force uniform) spent nine years in the Air Force where she was assaulted by her instructor and her fellow airmen. Paula Henderson (bottom right) was shipped off to Korea after telling a commander how a fellow soldier drugged and raped her. And homeless veteran Darlene Matthews (top left) has been living in her car (top right) in a mortuary parking lot for more than two years as she battles for a housing voucher.