Female veterans report more sexual, mental trauma, Denver, Colorado - Dept. of Veterans Affairs diagnosed 60,000 veterans with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Women have comprised 11 percent of military force in Iraq and Afghanistan. VA: 22 percent of women and 1 percent of men suffered sexual trauma in military. Expert says women afraid to report sexual harassment for fear of retribution. On a good day, Keri Christensen spends the day watching her children. She prepares their meals, gets them ready for school and helps them with their homework. But this housewife and mother of two is far different than most of the women living in her Denver, Colorado, suburb. She's an Iraqi war veteran, among the first women in the United States to be classified as combat veterans. Even though she's been home from the war for more than 2½ years, she's now fighting another battle -- this one with depression, nightmares, sleeplessness and anger. She says all of it is caused by her time in Iraq. Women have made up about 11 percent of the military force in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past six years, according to the Department of Defense; that's an estimated 180,000 women in the war zone. The figure dwarfs the 41,000 women deployed during the Persian Gulf War and the 7,500 who served during the Vietnam War, mostly as nurses. Unlike past wars, women are assigned to combat support roles. Many are seeing violence firsthand in an unconventional war. As a member of the National Guard, Christensen transported tanks in Iraq. She says she was shot at and was nearly a victim of a roadside bomb when a convoy in front of hers was hit. "You have this fear, 'Oh, my God, I still have to go through there,'" she recalled. "Am I going to make it?" Christensen says that she was sexually harassed by a superior while serving in Iraq and that the harassment added to the pressure created by just being in a war zone.In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that women are reporting signs of mental health issues when they return home at a higher rate than their male counterparts. The VA diagnosed 60,000 veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Of those, 22 percent of women suffered from "military sexual trauma," which includes sexual harassment or assault, compared with 1 percent of men. Christensen, who has been diagnosed with PTSD, says she doesn't like leaving her comfort zone. She doesn't drive more than two miles from her home.
Another factor contributing to poor mental health is the high amount of sexual trauma reported by women screened by the Veterans Administration. She says many women have trouble reporting the trauma to their superiors out of fear of retribution. Christensen receives counseling and group therapy sponsored by the VA. However, the military has said there is no merit to her claims that she suffered military sexual trauma. Like many who suffer from post-traumatic stress, Christensen still has her ups and downs. She says she's just working to get past the feelings of guilt, shame, loss of control and low self-esteem.
I think that it’s quite unfortunate that those female veterans have to deal with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Although gradully their lives should be back to normal, it’s never easy to let those traumas to get past. And, more support and healing is required to help get them back to good mental health.
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