“It’s no secret that women face unique challenges in the United States military. What’s less known is how deep and wide those challenges can be, and how they affect service members while on active duty and well after leaving the service.”
“With Women’s Health Week (May 9 to May 15) falling within Mental Health Awareness Month, we asked experts about the most pressing issues facing women in the military today. They range from the predictable, sexual harassment, to some that are much less talked about, such as female veterans’ inability to land jobs compared to their male counterparts.”
“Some trends are well documented but no less alarming during the time of COVID-19, when even more stressors have piled up. That includes the fact that women veterans are more than two times more likely to die by suicide as the general population, as reported by the Department of Veterans Affairs clinical psychologist Jennifer Strauss to attendees of a Defense Health Agency (DHA) event in February. Strauss also said that in 2019, 43% of female users of the VA had diagnosed mental health issues, compared to 26% of male VA users.”
“Many said that these statistics underscore the need for the Department of Defense and the VA to coordinate and prioritize women’s mental health needs.”
“One place for women to start is the VA’s Center for Women Veterans. It includes information on individual and whole-family services, for post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, depression, readjustment, and substance use disorders. The Psychological Health Center of Excellence has a page on women’s mental health in the military, too.”
“‘Resilience is a little bit different with women,’ said Air Force Lt. Col. Regina Owen, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and a professor at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. ‘A lot of women decide to leave the military because they are not treated equal to their male counterparts. So now (with COVID-19) we have this additional stressor…'” Read the full article here.
Source: DOD/VA collaborated to combat mental health challenges women face – By Thomas J. Walsh, May 25, 2021. Military Health System.
