Female veterans urge better recognition and tailored support as new group expands
Sisters in Service, founded by a former army officer and NHS psychiatrist, has recruited 160 members since May to help women navigate transition and mental health needs after frontline service
Female military veterans say they face distinct challenges when leaving the armed forces and are calling for more recognition and tailored support for women who served in front-line roles.
Dr Bex Bennett, a former British Army officer who says she came under mortar fire during a deployment to Iraq, set up the community interest company Sisters in Service with other veterans last year to help women support one another as they transition to civilian life. The group, which has recruited about 160 members across the UK since it began in May, focuses on peer meetings and practical activities and includes many women now working in healthcare.
"When I left the military I felt quite alone," Dr Bennett said, describing the isolation some women experience on leaving service. She said the public and some services still hold a "very outdated idea" that only men deploy to the front line, even though modern conflicts routinely put women alongside male counterparts in dangerous roles.
Dr Bennett trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where she served alongside the Duke of Sussex, and spent several years as an officer in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. A separate deployment in southern Afghanistan involved travel to remote bases and contact with local communities, she said. She now works as an NHS forensic psychiatrist in Nottinghamshire.
Sisters in Service organises local meetings, social activities and peer-led support intended to address gaps in recognition and services that women veterans say can leave them poorly understood by both civilian providers and some mainstream veteran organisations. Members report difficulties ranging from managing post-traumatic stress and mental health problems to negotiating career transitions and family life after service.
Advocates for female veterans say the issue is partly structural: most military veteran services and public perceptions were shaped when the majority of deployable roles were occupied by men, and policy and provision have not always kept pace with the changing composition of deployed forces. Campaigners argue that health services, mental-health provision and veteran-support programmes would be more effective if they acknowledged the specific experiences of women, including exposure to frontline combat, sexual harassment or assault, and the demands of caregiving and family responsibilities after service.
Sisters in Service co-founders and members say peer networks help fill some of these gaps by creating spaces where women can speak openly about service-related experiences without having to explain the basic premise that women also serve in dangerous roles. The group has attracted members from across the United Kingdom, and leaders say they plan to expand outreach and partner with existing health and veterans' organisations to improve access to clinical and social support.
Public-sector providers and charities that work with veterans say they recognise the need to adapt services for women but note resource and capacity challenges. Mental-health services for veterans have grown in recent years, yet health officials and veteran groups acknowledge that translating broad increases in provision into programmes that meet the specific needs of women veterans requires targeted planning, training and funding.
Officials in government departments responsible for veterans' affairs have pointed to ongoing reviews of support pathways and said they are committed to ensuring that services are accessible to all former service personnel. Veteran charities also said they are increasingly aware of gendered differences in need and are working to train staff and develop targeted outreach.
Dr Bennett and other members of Sisters in Service said peer support and collective advocacy can raise awareness and help shape services. "Often women go out alongside their male counterparts and do frontline roles," she said, adding that more recognition and tailored support would help female veterans reintegrate into civilian life and access appropriate healthcare.
The group plans to continue expanding its membership and encouraging collaboration with health services and veteran organisations to ensure that the experiences of women who served in front-line roles are understood and addressed as part of broader veteran support and public-health planning.