Overview

The VA began providing medical and psychosocial services for women in 1988, when women represented 4.4 percent of all veterans. By 2010, women veterans are expected to make-up more than 14 percent of the total US veteran population.

The VA is dedicated to providing the best health care services to women veterans, including comprehensive primary care as well as specialty care such as reproductive services, rehabilitation, mental health, and treatment of military sexual trauma. Visit the Women Veterans Health Care site for more information or jump directly to the Frequently Asked Questions section of the site.

VA Programs & Services

• Vet Centers Brochure: Serving Women Who Served (PDF): Located in your community Vet Centers stand ready to help you and your family with readjustment counseling and outreach services. Services include individual and group counseling, marital and family counseling, medical and benefits referrals, and employment counseling. You can also use the Vet Center Locator or visit the Vet Center website.
• Women veterans who are interested in receiving care at a VA should contact the nearest VA Medical Center and ask for the Women Veterans Program Manager (located at each Medical Center nationwide, dedicated to helping coordinate the services you may need).
• The Center for Women Veterans: The Center provides additional resources and information for women veterans, serving as an advocate in recognizing the service and contributions of women Veterans and women in the military, and in raising awareness of the responsibility to treat women Veterans with dignity and respect.
• National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD): NCPTSD has a list of fact sheets covering issues specific to women. They also have a video for Veterans and their families, Women Who Served in Our Military: Insights for Interventions, which presents the many trauma treatment options available to women Veterans by VA medical facilities, includes testimonials by women Veterans, and describes the considerable contributions of women in service to their country.
• MakeTheConnection.net: Visit this site to view stories from women Veterans of all service eras who have overcome mental health challenges. MakeTheConnection.net is a one-stop resource where Veterans and their families and friends can privately explore information on mental health issues, hear fellow Veterans and their families share their stories of resilience, and easily find and access the support and resources they need.
  • Watch video testimonials from women Veterans who have overcome mental health challenges, sought treatment specific to women, and to find information and resources for support.
  
  

Articles & Fact Sheets

Articles

• VA Helping Women Veterans Conquer Post-Traumatic Stress: About one in five women in the military will report experiencing sexual trauma while serving their country (as opposed to one in 100 men). Women Veterans are also twice as likely as their male counterparts to develop post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Women Veterans: Past, Present and Future (PDF): A brief look into the history of women in the military and the changing role of women in the military.

Fact Sheet

• 25 Most Frequently Asked Questions from Women Veterans (PDF): These are the most frequently asked questions that The Center for Women Veterans encounters.