Veterans Day: Let’s Fight for the Women Who Fight For Us

The progress women in the military have made is truly remarkable. During the American Revolution, women served exclusively as nurses, water bearers, cooks, laundresses and saboteurs. In the past decade alone, we’ve seen a lot of firsts for women. We saw the first women in U.S. Naval history take command of a fighter squadron, we saw the first woman become Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard and we saw the first woman receive the rank of four-star general in the U.S. Army. The days when a small number of women tended to the health and domestic needs of servicemen are long over. Approximately 205,000 of the 1.4 million-member active-duty force are women.

While these turning points and accomplishments are impressive, women in the military have not had it easy. Women in the military are victims of sexual assault at greater rates than the general population. A startling one in three servicewomen has been sexually assaulted compared to one in six civilian women. While efforts to stop sexual violence against women in the military have been put forth, little progress has been made. What’s just as shocking as the lack of protection women have is the lack of reproductive rights women who serve our country have. At this time, women in the military who are impregnated through rape cannot get abortion coverage through their federal health care plans. This is a huge injustice. Women in the military deserve equity and should have the same access to reproductive services as the general population.

Passage of the Shaheen Amendment would provide an essential step in the direction of reproductive justice for military women. This amendment would give servicewomen the same rights to access abortion services that federal employees have. This amendment is currently being debated in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. In honor of equity, rights and justice, we ask you to stand with servicewomen by joining former Ms. Foundation for Women grantee Service Women’s Action Network’s campaign asking Congress to give servicewomen the same health insurance coverage they give to other federal employees. This Veterans Day, let’s fight for the women who fight for us. Let’s honor all armed service veterans, servicemen and servicewomen who make America the great nation that it is.

Ms. Foundation Grantees in the News - Congressional Edition

Two Ms. Foundation grantees are in the news with testimony and advocacy to Congress on Veterans' Affairs and Health Care.

Anuradha Bhagwati, Executive Director of Ms. Foundation grantee Service Women's Action Network, testified before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs on the challenges faced by women in accessing health care and benefits, and in the processing of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) claims.

The Veterans' Administration routinely rejects claims for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Military Sexual Trauma (MST), regardless of the evidence a veteran submits.

Bhagwati's prepared testimony concluded with the following call for change:

Recommendations to Bridge the Gaps in Care for Women Veterans:

1. Require that the VA remedy the shortage of female physicians, female mental health providers and MST counselors at VA hospitals nationwide. Also require that the VA provide the option of female-only counseling groups for female combat veterans, and female- as well as male-only counseling groups for female and male survivors of MST.


2. Require the VA to implement a program to train, educate, and certify all staff, including administrative and medical, in federal Equal Opportunity regulations and MST, to reduce a discriminatory and hostile atmosphere toward women veterans.


3. Require the VA to increase accessibility of fee-based care for veterans (both male and female) who have been diagnosed with Military Sexual Trauma.


4. Require day-care facilities for veterans who are parents, as well as more flexible evening or weekend hours for working veterans and parents, at every VA hospital.


5. Require the VA to conduct a study into what percentage of claims are denied with a breakdown by gender as well as type of injury/condition, including both combat-related PTSD, and PTSD or other conditions resulting from MST.


6. Require that VBA claims officers undergo intensive training and education in MST and MST-related medical conditions.


7. Require that the VBA’s submission requirements for MST claims reflect a reasonable standard, such as proof of MST counseling during or after service, and diagnosis of MST-related medical conditions.


8. Require the DOD to conduct a retention study to determine the total impact of MST on re-enlistment rates of servicemembers.

Ms. Foundation grantee Raising Women's Voices is working to engage a broad array of women's health advocates in local, state and national health reform discussions to ensure that women's concerns will be addressed and the health care we get will be health care for all. They are cited for their mobilization in a Newsweek article about the negotiations on the subject of abortion and health care reform between Senators Grassley and Baucus. (See Raising Women's Voices and others in our earlier post Reproductive Health: Once Again, Ripe for Conservative Compromise.)