Why ‘veteran’ isn’t a term ex-servicewoman relate  as new campaign launches

The Help for Heroes’ ‘Help for Her’ initiative is designed to tackle the unique challenges women face when transitioning from military to civilian life.

And Elaine Paxton, from Cupar, who served in the Royal Navy for five years, believes it is essential that the experiences of her contemporaries should be understood and acted upon.

New insights reveal that many former servicewomen do not identify with the term ‘veteran’ owing to unresolved trauma, stigma, fear, loss of trust, and shame.

Women also face a significantly higher rate of medical discharge than men across all military services and are at greater risk of injury. 

To mark International Women’s Day (Sunday, March 8), Help for Heroes is continuing to pressure the Government to urgently commission an independent review of the military medical discharge process; and wants to encourage more ex-servicewomen to come forward for support.

Insights and data also reveal a number of issues affecting former servicewomen:

Some 67 per cent of women currently serving experienced at least one example of sexualised behaviour in the last 12 months, compared to 34 per cent of males.

Uniforms are not fit for purpose - research shows that 85% of female recruits, experience breast health issues relating to inadequate breast support or poor bra fitting, and 30 per cent of ex-servicewomen are classed as disabled, while 9.4 per cent are experiencing bad or very bad health.

According to Help for Heroes’ Veterans and Family Needs Survey conducted last year, almost 60 per cent of women who served said they did not feel prepared to leave, as they did not have a new job lined up.

Elaine had a career across bases in England and Scotland in communications and recruitment. The military gave her confidence and resilience, which she would need in abundance after her husband Adrian, who served in the RAF for 25 years, suffered four catastrophic strokes in 2022, and Elaine had to battle with the NHS and local services to bring him home.

She features in a video that the Charity has produced to support the Help for Her campaign, to encourage more former servicewomen to come forward if they need support.

Elaine said: “When people hear the word ‘veteran’, they often don’t think of women, and often women don’t think of themselves as veterans. People don’t realise what sacrifices former servicewomen have made. They’re equal to men, they do the same job. It’s about strength of mind and strength of character.

“However, a lot of ex-servicewomen feel they don’t have permission to ask for help, or to put themselves first. The support that I’ve had from Help for Heroes for myself and my family has been life-changing. My message to women out there is that you don’t have to carry everything yourself.”

Elaine added: “The evidence shows that women are disproportionately affected by medical discharge and poor transition to civilian life, which is shocking. In an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world, there is growing recognition that we need our Armed Forces now more than ever, and the Ministry of Defence has ambitions for women to account for 30 per cent of military recruits by 20306. We need the Government to make changes now.”

The charity has launched a new web page aimed at ex-servicewomen and developed an information leaflet targeting women who have served, which are being distributed to GPs and hospitals nationwide.