The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization is gathering in Phoenix for its annual convention, where it is setting legislative priorities that include significant focus on improving mental health care for women veterans.
Naomi Mathis, combat-disabled Air Force veteran and Assistant National Legislative Director for the DAV, highlighted that one in three women veterans has endured military sexual trauma (MST), encompassing sexual harassment and assault. She emphasized a critical issue: the current VA algorithm responsible for identifying high suicide risk does not screen for MST. Mathis noted ongoing efforts to push for an update to address this gap.
Earlier this year, DAV released its inaugural report specifically addressing mental health among women veterans, placing suicide prevention as its top clinical priority. Key findings from the report underscored alarming statistics:
Women veterans are twice as likely as their male counterparts to attempt suicide.
Firearms were involved in 51.7% of women veterans’ suicides, a rate nearly three times higher than for non-veteran women.
Rural veterans face a 20% increased suicide risk compared to urban peers, compounded by lower access to mental health and gender-specific health services.
Intimate partner violence affects nearly 20% of women veterans using VA primary care, significantly correlating with suicidal thoughts.
Women veterans utilizing VA maternity care often present with multiple mental health diagnoses, including PTSD, heightening suicide risk.
Moreover, the report noted a significant rise in service-connected disabilities among women veterans accessing VA health care, increasing from 48% in FY 2000 to 73% in FY 2020. Over the same period, VA mental health care utilization by women veterans surged by 154%.
DAV’s report includes over 50 policy and legislative recommendations aimed at enhancing mental health care for the 650,000 women currently within the VA system.
In 2020, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act established 988 as the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Veterans can dial 988 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line, or seek help via text or online chat.
