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During a Senate Armed Services hearing on military sexual assault in March, the freshman senator made headlines when she told the committee and witnesses that she was \"preyed upon and raped by a superior officer.\"

\"I also am a military sexual assault survivor, but unlike so many brave survivors, I didn’t report being sexually assaulted,\" she said at the hearing. \"Like so many women and men, I didn’t trust the system at the time. I blamed myself. I was ashamed and confused. I thought I was strong, but felt powerless. The perpetrators abused their position of power in profound ways.\"

During the hearing, McSally, who served for 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, said when she eventually did report her experience, she felt \"the system was raping (her) all over again.\"

\"I stayed silent for many years, but later in my career, as the military grappled with the scandals, and their wholly inadequate responses, I felt the need to let some people know I, too, was a survivor,\" she said. \"I was horrified at how my attempt to share generally my experiences were handled. I almost separated from the Air Force at 18 years (of service) over my despair. Like many victims, I felt like the system was raping me all over again.\"

\"PHOTO:
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
PHOTO: Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) speaks during a Senate Armed Subcommittee hearing on preventing sexual assault where she spoke about her experience of being sexually assaulted in the military on Capitol Hill, March 6, 2019.
>

On \"This Week,\" McSally said it took years for her to \"come to terms with what had happened ... and the impact that it had\" on her.

\"Those who are close to me, friends and family and others, are well aware in my journey of healing and my journey of not being crushed by it, but instead being strengthened by what happened to me and being empowered, not just to fight for myself but (for) other women,\" McSally said.

\"As I think back, I just don’t even know if I would have known where to go at the time. And so, yeah, I really feel like there was a second very deep failure when I tried to -- to bring this to the attention of others.\"

McSally told Raddatz that she had decided just two days before the hearing that she would tell her story to not just the committee members and media cameras covering the hearing, but to the victims there testifying.

\"I decided on Monday night that I was going to share that I was with them,\" she said, adding that she \"didn't make that decision lightly.\"

\"I didn't realize it was going to be as emotional as it -- as it was, but there I was on that day,\" McSally said on \"This Week. \"I’m glad I did it. I don’t regret sharing what I shared and it has been an extraordinary journey since then.\"

ABC News' Kendall Heath contributed to this report.

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