Building a sisterhood for women veterans

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Special Interest programme / Partner story / Video

15 December, 2022

Photo credit: WoVeN

Over the past 40 years, the number of women serving in active duty military has grown, and they currently represent about 16 per cent of the US armed forces.¹

When the time comes to return to living in society after serving their military service, studies have shown that women veterans face significant and unique readjustment challenges in comparison with male veterans.² Women veterans have said that that the available resources for veterans are not well-suited to their unique needs. For example, they describe being the only women at veteran events, so as a result, do not benefit from the support and camaraderie enjoyed by their male counterparts. Many report that they eventually drift away from their veteran identities altogether.³

Established to better meet these unique needs of women veterans, the Women’s Veterans Network (WoVen), based at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, was established as a peer support network designed to meet the needs for social support and connections among women veterans. The network offers a programme that provides support through meetings focusing on topics such as transitions, balance, stress relief, healthy living, connections, and esteem. Since the first pilot groups in August 2017, the response from women veterans has been overwhelming.

WoVen is providing a much-needed space for women veterans, and it is also helping improve women veterans’ quality of life and wellbeing. More than 4,000 women veterans have enrolled in the WoVen national community and more than 1,800 women have taken part in WoVeN groups. Responding to the challenges brought on by Covid-19, the network launched online groups as a new way to deliver their sessions, and these are now being offered alongside the original in-person programme.

Becca Tauber, a former US Army reservist for over a decade, is now working with WoVen as a trainer. “I know I am one of many women out there who didn’t even know to look for this organisation,” she says. “Building Woven one woman veteran at a time and creating the community for them to belong is an awesome mission to be a part of. I love watching the women blossom when they realise they are not alone in their military experience and memories. This experience has uplifted my life in ways I never could have guessed.”

This grant falls under our Special Interest Programme, which reflects the Trustees’ interests in making dynamic, diverse, large, innovative, and challenging grants. You can read more about the programme by clicking here. More information about WoVeN can be found on their website by clicking here, or from the video below:

References:

[1] Council on Foreign Relations (2020) Demographics of the U.S. Military. Available at: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military (Accessed 17 October 2022)

[2] Street, A.E., Gradus, J.L., Giasson, H.L., Vogt, H.L., Resick, P.A. (2013) Gender Differences Among Veterans Deployed in Support of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 28(1): 556-562. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-013-2333-4

Vogt, H.L., Smith, B.N., Fox, A.B., Amoroso, T., Taverna, E., Schnurr, P.P. (2017) Consequences of PTSD for the work and family quality of life of female and male U.S. Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(1): 341–352. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1321-5

Creech, S.K., Swift, R., Zlotnick, C. Taft, C. Street, A,E. (2016) Combat exposure, mental health, and relationship functioning among women veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars Journal of Family Psychology, 30(1): 43-51. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000145

Thomas, K.H., Haring E.L., McDaniel, J., Flether, K.L., Albright, D.L. (2017) Belonging and Support: Women Veterans’ Perceptions of Veteran Service Organizations. Journal of Veterans Studies, 2(2): 2-12. Available at: http://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.v2i2.12

[3]. Villagran, M., Ledford, C.J.W., Canzona, M.R. (2015) Women’s Health Identities in the Transition From Military Member to Service Veteran. Journal of Health Communication, 20(10): 1125-1132. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2015.1018619

Demers, A. (2013) From Death to Life: Female Veterans, Identity Negotiation, and Reintegration Into Society. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 53(4): 489-515. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167812472395

Di Leone, B., Wang, J. M., Kressin, N., & Vogt, D. (2016). Women’s veteran identity and utilization of VA health services. Psychological services, 13(1): 60–68. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000021