More women than ever before are joining the military. They make up the fastest-growing group of veterans today. But when these women return to everyday life, they face big problems men don’t.
Female veterans deal with healthcare issues, trouble finding jobs, and even homelessness more often than men. And these women deserve better help. Let’s talk about the challenges they face and also find ways to make things easier for them.
Problems with Healthcare
Many female veterans don’t use VA hospitals. More than half pick other places for care. Why? They get quicker appointments and sometimes better care outside the VA. The VA hospitals were mostly made with men in mind.
Actually, the VA didn’t even have care for women veterans until 1988! That history still makes things hard today. Female veterans sometimes put off seeing a doctor for serious health problems because they feel misunderstood. They need places that know how to care for women’s special needs. And those can include help with having babies and women’s health.
Mental Health
Female veterans have more issues with mental health than their male counterparts. Many of them suffer from depression, anxiety, and PTSD more often. And almost half of them deal with serious mental health problems. To make it worse, they also think about suicide and try it more often than men.
One big reason is Military Sexual Trauma (MST). About one-third of female veterans say they were assaulted during their service, and most have faced harassment. Studies show this trauma causes PTSD more often than combat does for women. But sadly, many don’t get the right help. This leaves them alone and struggling for many years.
Money Problems and Job Issues
Female veterans also often have a tough time finding good jobs after service. They have more educational experience than their male veterans, yet most of them remain jobless. Their unemployment rate is so much higher. According to the stats, it’s around 10% compared to 6% for men. Over half say they don’t have enough money even to pay their bills.
It’s very hard to change military experience into something civilian employers can understand. Managers often don’t see the value in their military skills. Women veterans also need better help finding good jobs. Employers should also learn to see and value the skills these veterans have learned.
Feeling Alone and Having a Hard Time Fitting In
“Thanks for your service. How long was your husband away?”
Female veterans hear this type of question a lot. Also, many people don’t see them as real veterans. This makes them feel all alone and forgotten. Studies also show women veterans feel lonely more often than men.
They also usually keep quiet about their service around non-veteran friends. It also gets even harder for veterans who are also mothers. They need support systems that understand both military life and parenting, but those systems often don’t exist.
Homelessness and Domestic Violence
Sadly, female veterans become homeless way more often than male veterans. It’s almost four times more likely. Many homeless female veterans were also sexually assaulted during their military service. They become targets for even more violence since most of them don’t even have a safe place to live,
But many homeless programs also don’t reach these women. The reason is that these people don’t think they look like veterans. This also puts them in even more danger.
What We Can Do to Help
We can do several things to improve the lives of women veterans.
First, we need to ask for new laws and policies that see women veterans as special. Regular programs often don’t help enough.
Second, the VA should also hire more female doctors and nurses and offer women’s health services.
Third, we also must put money toward mental health care for women who are dealing with trauma from their service.
Communities can also help by creating groups just for female veterans. These groups can help women find friends who understand their experiences. And employers can develop targeted hiring plans for women veterans by recognizing the valuable skills they gained in the military.
Groups outside the government can also match experienced female veterans with women new to civilian life. Mentors can help women veterans feel less alone. And the easiest thing everyone can do is treat women as real veterans and thank them for their service.
