A soldier and a sex worker walk into a therapist’s office. Who’s more likely to have PTSD?

When we think about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we most often think of soldiers traumatised by their experiences of war. But the statistics tell another story.

While about 5-12% of Australian military personnel who have experienced active service have PTSD at any one time, this is about the same (10%) as rates for police, ambulance personnel, firefighters and other rescue workers.

And while these rates are significant, they are not vastly different to rates in the general Australian population (8% of women and 5% of men).