By Elizabeth DePompei
For 15 years, Jennifer Alvarado lived in survival mode. She struggled to hold a job, was at risk of homelessness and relied on food banks to feed her family. It was exactly the kind of life she hoped to avoid when she joined the Navy as a 19-year-old single mom.
But after years of intimate partner violence compounded by military sexual trauma, Alvarado felt lost. At times, she found solace in drinking, and during one phase in her life, she considered suicide. “Once I got out [of the Navy], there was no transition from military to civilian,” Alvarado said. “They sent a woman with two children and a serious history of domestic violence out into the world, and I had no idea what to do with myself.”
When Alvarado sought help through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), she was often left disappointed. She said she was sexually harassed at her local VA clinic and that her benefits claim for depression was denied, though doctors piled on prescriptions. Stories like Alvarado’s are common among women veterans, as featured in a new report from DAV (Disabled American Veterans). “Women Veterans: The Journey to Mental Wellness” is a comprehensive assessment of the unique factors contributing to the staggering rates of suicide among women veterans. According to data released by the VA in November 2023, the suicide rate among women veterans jumped 24.1% between 2020 and 2021 nearly four times higher than the 6.3% increase among male veterans and vastly higher than the 2.6% increase among nonveteran women.
“Women Veterans: The Journey to Mental Wellness” shows that key factors, including high rates of military sexual trauma and intimate partner violence, substance use disorders and reproductive health challenges, put women veterans at high risk for suicide. The report further reveals how the system charged with women veterans’ mental health care—the VA—can and must do better.
“We know that the VA is uniquely positioned to deliver the best and most comprehensive health care to our women veterans, especially those who have suffered injury or illness as a result of their military service,” said DAV National Legislative Director Joy Ilem. “However, there is much work to be done to ensure equity in services and health outcomes for women, the fastest-growing demographic of veterans and one that historically has been underserved. With the research and recommendations in this report, we look forward to propelling that work forward alongside the VA and Congress.”
In the report, DAV makes over 50 policy and legislative recommendations to help improve access to mental health care that accounts for the unique risk factors women veterans face, improve suicide prevention efforts among women veterans, and invest in further research and data collection that proportionally represents women veterans. The report is DAV’s third report focusing on women veterans and the first to focus on mental health. The report also includes personal stories of women veterans like Alvarado. “The only way for change to happen is to talk about the ugly stuff,” she said.
Read the full report and find more resources at womenveterans.org.
To get help or learn more about how DAV helps veterans, visit DAV.org.
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