Combat Stress research leads to government fund for women veteran survivors of military sexual trauma
Women veteran survivors of military sexual trauma (MST) will soon have access to improved clinical support within the UK healthcare and charity sector thanks to a new £200,000 government fund.
The fund was set up following recommendations in three independent reports – including research by Combat Stress – commissioned by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA). The reports investigated how the government and charities can improve access to care for female veterans.
MST is defined as sexual harassment, bullying and assault that take place during military service. The funding will support the rollout of dedicated training and guidance for frontline staff to support women veterans across healthcare services, military and civilian charities.
Research by Combat Stress found that women veteran survivors of MST face unique experiences and barriers compared to men in accessing treatment and support. These included feeling their experiences and traumas were invalidated by other veterans and professionals; perceiving health care professionals were not aware of and did not understand the experiences of women veterans; and that women veterans may feel a lack of belonging in veteran groups and the veteran community more widely, especially those dominated by veteran men. In addition, women veterans do not always identify with the term veteran. All of this may hinder engagement with services or disclosure of traumatic experiences.
The study was conducted with veterans from the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association.
Professor Dominic Murphy, Head of Research at Combat Stress and President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society, said:
“Our previous research identified that around 1 in 4 women veterans experienced sexual traumas during their military service. Following on from this, the OVA funded us to develop evidence-based guidance on how to best support women veteran survivors of military sexual trauma. Crucially, these guidelines were co-produced with women veterans with lived experience, in order to learn from them how services should and can be adapted to best meet their needs, experiences and engage them in treatment.
“These findings are the first stage in ensuring that women veterans can receive the support they deserve.”
Across different countries’ militaries, MST has been shown to be prevalent and disproportionately impact servicewomen. Unlike other traumas, MST can have a particularly negative and wide-ranging impact on the survivor; it is considered one of the leading causes of PTSD among women veterans and is also linked to an increased risk in developing anxiety and depression.
The study made a number of recommendations across policy and health care practice to improve the provision of and access to services for women veterans who have survived military sexual trauma.
The ENHANCE Study: Improving Access to Evidence-Based Treatment for Women Veteran Survivors of Sexual Trauma can be viewed here.