Reservists are under-represented in research about the Armed Forces community. The Centre for Military Women’s Research decided to explore reservist experiences in their latest colloquium, held on 9 January 2025, and identify future research priorities with this community. The Centre Director, Dr Lauren Godier, opened the day setting out the need for action based on the research gaps.

Abigail Adams, a Research Fellow also from the CMWR team, talked about what the research team had learnt from their Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) groups on the subject of current and ex-reservist women.  This visual representation captures the themes identified.

Next up was Col Leona Barr-Jones, Chief Executive of East Anglia Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association (RFCA). She talked us through the history of women in the Armed Forces and how the reservist story intersected with this. Leona reflected on some of her own experiences, considering some of the different challenges encountered by reservist women compared to their regular counterparts and how to foster a sense of inclusion, respect and belonging.

Finally, we heard from Elisa Thomas, a reservist Warrant Officer currently on maternity leave, who delivered an insightful talk on the theme of maternity, fertility and motherhood.

The colloquium closed with a workshop exploring the priorities for future research. This saw us each identify three priority areas and then work in teams to prioritise as a group. This will be used to shape our future research plans.

We are very grateful to those, representing the Office for Veterans Affairs, the Royal British Legion, the Female Veterans Transformation Programme, Kings College London and our own Advisory group, who gave up their time to contribute to this important conversation. Thank you also goes to our three amazing speakers who gave use such a fantastic insight into women in the Reserves and really helped us to start mapping new research agendas.

Leaving the military can disrupt veterans’ sense of identity, particularly for those with service-related disabilities. Disabled veterans may feel alienated from both the civilian population and their military identity. Addressing identity struggles is crucial for the recovery and reintegration of injured veterans, as identity significantly influences psychological well-being

Participation in sports has proven beneficial for disabled veterans, aiding their successful reintegration into civilian life, boosting self-esteem, and fostering connections with fellow veterans. However, female veterans represent a minority demographic in the military, resulting in previous research and rehabilitation programs primarily targeting their male counterparts. Despite this, female veterans face higher rates of depression and anxiety, highlighting the growing need to better understand and address strategies that can enhance their mental health and well-being.

Therefore, this research aims to fill this gap in knowledge by exploring the lived experiences of female veterans who have acquired a disability and who participate in high level competitive sport. This research aims to give voice to an underrepresented population, providing insight into how competitive sports influence the sense of self and identity of female veterans with disabilities.

Participants will be eligible for this study if they meet the following criteria:

1) Are veterans of the British armed forces.

2) Females who sustained a psychological and/or physical disability during military service.

4) Have participated in at least one national or international elite sporting competition.

Would you be interested in taking part?

Participation in this study involves creating two social identity maps and taking part in a one-on-one interview with the researcher. Upon completing the social identity maps and the interview, participants will receive a £15 Amazon voucher as a token of appreciation for their time and effort. If you are interested in taking part or would like more information about this research, please email the researcher Anna Hendrick at hendria@hope.ac.uk

We need your help to co-produce a toolkit for use by service providers in the commercial, statutory and charitable sectors, helping transform service provision for female veterans – the 250,000 strong group whose specific needs are not being addressed by current service provision. The toolkit could be a digital resource, awareness-raising resources, or an interactive app. The 3-year, UK-wide and tri-service programme is funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and NHS England, in partnership with the Cobseo Female Veterans Cluster and the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association.

“The programme aims to build a legacy where female veterans feel confident to access the right support, at the right time, and in the right way for them,” Colonel (Retd) Alison Brown OBE, Chair of the Cobseo Female Veterans’ Cluster Group

• Are you a female veteran? If you have ever served, whether for one day or 22+ years, we would love to hear from you, even if you have never accessed support services
• Are you a service provider, employer or charity that work with female veterans?

Please head over to our website and complete the relevant questionnaire to help us find out: ‘What does ‘good’ look like for female veterans services?’. You are the experts on service provision for female veterans and we can’t do this without your voices.

📝 If you are a female veteran and also work providing services to female veterans, employ female veterans or work in a charity working with veterans then please complete both questionnaires.

📝 If you are part of an organisation that does not identify as veteran-facing but nonetheless may have female veterans as employees or clients please complete our questionnaire also as we would love to hear from you too.

We know that you have probably been asked for your opinions and views A LOT and may feel like there is ‘no point’ or ‘no-one ever listens’, so we agave committed to produce a ‘you said…..we did’ response to the co-production which will eventually be available on our website for you to see and to check we listened.

We will be running face-to-face and online focus groups across the summer so please register your interest in taking part in a focus group on the website too.

If you have a recent focus group report about the experiences of female veterans then please send it our way. If you are running focus groups or having an informal gathering of female veterans for a coffee and you might be able to incorporate our questions, check out our facilitator’s pack providing guidance on how you could do this.

Your opinion matters so any information you can provide will go a long way to helping other female veterans in the future. Thank you.

Study exploring digital platforms to support women veterans with alcohol use at King’s Centre for Military Health Research – recruiting now

For over a century, women in the UK Armed Forces have been integral to our national defence. Despite their longstanding service, research focused on women veterans and their health and wellbeing remains scarce. This highlights a critical gap in our understanding of their unique experiences and needs both in and out of service.

The majority of research exploring the impact of alcohol consumption in veterans is focused on men. However, we know from the existing, albeit limited evidence, that alcohol use in ex-serving women is substantially higher than that of their civilian counterparts.

We know that problematic alcohol use often co-occurs with common mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, and PTSD and alcohol is often used to self-medicate and cope with negative internal states. Research has shown that common mental health disorders are more prevalent in ex-serving women than in the general population and crucially that ex-serving women face barriers to accessing mental health support, including due to ongoing alcohol use.

Digital health innovations

Digital health technologies, like smartphone apps, offer promising avenues for delivering brief interventions, bypassing geographic barriers, long treatment waiting lists, and stigma linked to in-person assistance. They hold potential for advancing gender equity by empowering individuals with control over their health data, expanding healthcare access, and addressing specific challenges more prevalent for women, such as childcare. However, the development of these digital health interventions often lacks a gender equity perspective, a crucial aspect that needs addressing.

Supporting women who have served and consume alcohol

King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) is a leading UK civilian institution for Military Health Research and focuses on research relating to serving personnel, ex-serving personnel, military families, and interventions.

To address gaps in the evidence base relating to ex-serving women, researchers from KCMHR are conducting a study testing multiple digital platforms to support ex-serving women manage their alcohol use.

Each platform has been developed incorporating expert feedback and guidance from focus groups with ex-serving women as well as military and substance use charities to be tailored to the unique needs of women who have served.

Want to take part?

If you are interested in taking part in this study, click here to complete the eligibility survey.

We are seeking to recruit individuals who are veterans of the UK Armed Forces, identify as female, live in the United Kingdom, use a smartphone, drink alcohol, and are willing to take part for 12 weeks in this online study. You can read the participant information sheet here.

At the end of the study, participants who complete the baseline and final questionnaire will receive a £20 Love2Shop voucher as a thank you for taking part.

By taking part in this research, your contribution will support the ex-serving community by helping us to test a digital health intervention which can benefit others in the future.

If you would like to know more about the study or have any questions, please get in touch at ration-study@kcl.ac.uk.

This year’s theme, #Inspire Inclusion, calls on us to “break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected”.  In recognition of this theme, this blog puts a spotlight on our recent research project ‘I don’t feel like that’s for me’: Overcoming barriers to mental healthcare for women veterans’.  The project explored the mental healthcare support needs and experience of women veterans in England, and developed guidance for professionals supporting women veterans’ mental health. 

What did we find?  Women veterans may face several gendered barriers when accessing support for their mental health. These include services being perceived as being male-dominated and designed for men (often related to male and combat-focused branding), limited understanding of women’s needs, misconceptions around women’s role in the Armed Forces, women not identifying with the term ‘veteran’, and caring responsibilities taking precedent. Importantly, the project highlights how trauma-informed approaches to care can help to overcome barriers and facilitate positive experiences within support services for women veterans. We’ve created a mnemonic ‘WOMAN VET’ to help mental healthcare professionals remember the key takeaway messages for offering the best support to women veterans. 

Want to find out more? Check out the project infographic, summary report and guidance for mental healthcare professionals here.  

We wanted to end our International Women’s Day blog with a special thank you to all the women in the military community who have played a part in our research as members of an expert-by-experience group or research participants. Without your support and time, the work of the CWMR would not be possible.  

Stay tuned for our next blog post, where you will hear from interns at the CMWR about their experiences learning about women in the military community and assisting with research during their internship program.  

Who are we and what do we do?

The CMWR is a group of researchers at Anglia Ruskin University who are looking at the experience and impact of military life on women.

Our core mission is to inform and improve the wellbeing of women in the military and veteran community through world-leading collaborative research and co-production. We are carrying out several different research projects, from looking at the experiences of women in making service justice complaints, to reviewing help-seeking and support services for military women in the civilian world. You can find out more about what we do on our Projects page.

What do we mean by collaborative?

There has been considerable momentum in progressing the UK agenda in research and support for military women in recent years. We see collaboration across the sector as key to achieving our core mission and avoiding duplication of effort.

We would like to work with researchers, policy makers, support services and military women to ensure our work is collaborative and grounded in the experiences of the community. If you would like to speak to us about a potential project, please get in touch.

The CMWR also recognises the value and importance of the co-production of research, ensuring that research is undertaken with military women instead of for them. Find out more about our commitment to co-production.

Future blog posts will feature the work of people in the CMWR community, including researchers, military women and those supporting them. If you’d like to contribute, we’d love to hear from you.