The government has announced a £200,000 fund to support women veterans who have experienced sexual trauma in the military by providing dedicated training and guidance for frontline staff across healthcare services, military and civilian charities.
The fund was established in response to recommendations in three independent reports from Anglia Ruskin University, the veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress and Robert Gordon University.
The reports, which were commissioned by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, found that women’s experiences in the military required tailored support from statutory and charitable services.
Recommendations included increasing the number of partnerships between service and non-military charities to share best practice, and gathering gendered data across government and charities to ensure more equitable access to support.
The reports also recommended the provision of staff training that focuses on female veterans’ needs across statutory and charity services, including mental health and sexual trauma.
Johnny Mercer, minister for veterans’ affairs, said: “Women veterans make up 13 per cent of the veteran population in England and Wales and so it’s important that we better understand their health and welfare needs.”
Robert Gordon University found that female veterans may not self-identify as veterans, and may have different support needs to male veterans due to different experiences of military service, which means they may be reluctant to access service charities.
Zoe Morrison, professor of organisational behaviour and change at RGU, said: “Our findings demonstrate the importance of improving inclusive approaches to service provision, with high-quality, accessible, and in some cases female-specific services needed in safe and accessible environments where women feel valued as veterans.
“We highlight examples of good practice and identify potential for increased communication and collaboration between service charities, as well as between service and non-military charities, to better support female veterans dealing with service-related issues.”