Project summary:
This project set out to build an in-depth understanding of how women veterans experience government and charity provision, alongside their broader experiences in military and civilian life. Funded by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, the research drew on interviews with 85 women who had served in the UK Armed Forces, informing 30 key recommendations to improve statutory and charitable support.
Women veterans reported feeling unrecognised and underrepresented, both within the military itself and across civilian and veteran support services, which directly shaped how (and whether) they sought help in civilian life. Male dominance was a recurring theme, with veteran organisations perceived as male-branded and male-targeted in their imagery, staffing, and governance, leaving many women feeling that these services simply “weren’t for them”. Many participants also didn’t identify with the term “veteran”, closely tied to a public perception of veterans as older, combat-experienced men, which meant they didn’t recognise available services as relevant to them. Alongside this, low awareness of existing services, confusion over eligibility, and a lack of understanding of gendered needs among professionals compounded the barriers to access, while gendered experiences during service, including discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault, further increased women’s support needs without a corresponding improvement in service design.
Project outputs:
Scoping review: Women veterans’ experiences of veteran-specific support services: an international scoping review | BMC Women’s Health | Springer Nature Link
