American women have risked and sacrificed their personal safety to serve their country since the Revolutionary War. However, while they have proven themselves as strong, courageous, and valiant time and time again, female veterans still face many challenges that their male colleagues do not when returning home.
Here are some of the major issues that female veterans face and that need to be addressed immediately.
Reconnecting With the Community
Female veterans frequently struggle to reconcile with themselves and their community upon returning from service.
When it comes to traditional gender identities and traits, the military values stereotypically male traits like strength, stoicism, and intensity while also discouraging traditionally female traits in recruits.
This means that women must silence large parts of their identity upon entering boot camp and struggle to reconnect with their communities and themselves after their service.
Diminished Valour and Role
When it comes to popular culture and representations of the military in the media, Americans still seem to believe that the armed forces are an organization for men and men alone.
This lack of proper representation means that female veterans, who make up 15% of active-duty forces, are consistently faced with having their services diminished and their accomplishments ignored.
In fact, as few as 27% of female veterans feel that their service and experiences are respected, and are instead assumed to be wives of soldiers or “army brats” if mentioning their times at military bases.
PTSD and Harassment
Like many other veterans who have served at home and abroad, women in the military often have to deal with PTSD from their experiences in battle, but can also develop it as a result of sexual harassment.
The statistics for sexual harassment in the military are staggering, with 71-90% of female veterans reporting sexual harassment during their services and nearly a third reporting sexual assault.
Resources for female veterans suffering from PTSD are becoming more widespread and available, but veterans are still in need of a community that respects them and can support them on the road to recovery.
The Beyond the Battlefield Initiative is a collaboration between Holman Community Development Corp. and Holman United Methodist Church that supports the brave women in Los Angeles who have sacrificed so much for us. If you are a veteran looking for support or a place to share your story, give us a call today at 323-703-5860, 323-500-3262 or visit us online to learn more about our initiatives that serve our communities.