Responding to the Rise in Suicides Among Women Veterans
Suicide rates are rising for women who are veterans or current members of the military. As in the civilian population, their rates of suicide trail their male counterparts, but fatalities are rising at an alarming rate.
According to the most recent Veterans Administration report, between 2020 and 2021, the suicide rate among women veterans jumped 24.1%—nearly four times higher than the 6.3% increase among male veterans and vastly higher than the 2.6% increase among non-veteran women. Male veterans took their lives at a rate of 35.9 per 100,000, and women veterans died by suicide at a rate of 17.5 per 100k.
The report notes: “Women veterans experience unique challenges related to their military service, including readjustment challenges, PTSD, military sexual trauma, trouble sleeping and physical injury. These unique experiences can increase the risk of suicide and require targeted solutions.”
The VA has named suicide prevention as its No. 1 clinical priority and has funded numerous research projects to identify risk factors and develop evidence to support the most effective treatments to reduce the grisly annual toll.
Removal of lethal means is seen as one of the most effective approaches to reducing suicide attempts, especially as the use of firearms in suicide is prevalent among veterans. Women veterans die by firearm suicide at a rate nearly three times higher than for nonveteran women, according to a study by the Disabled American Veterans.
Other suicide prevention responses being pursued include:
Screening all patients.- Patients seeking treatment in mental health, emergency, and primary care settings are being screened to detect at-risk individuals.
Identifying at-risk individuals - VA's ReachVet program is applying statistical algorithms to clinical data in VA facilities to regularly produce lists of veterans with the highest probability of dying by suicide to alert providers and coordinate outreach.
Follow-ups - Brief, personal, non-intrusive follow-up messages are being sent to patients after they receive care. These messages have been linked to decreased suicide attempts.
Lastly, the VA is fostering community-based programs that include economic support, improve social connectedness and protective environments to deter suicide. These programs, the VA notes, are tailored to specific subpopulations among veterans.
For example, 30% of the women veteran in one study suffered to some degree from military sexual trauma, an identified risk factor in suicide or suicidal thoughts, even in women with no other previous mental diagnosis. Behavioral health issues stemming from women’s medical issues such as pregnancy, post-partum depression, and menopause also have been cited as contributing to the distinctive nature of suicide among female veterans. Another risk factor more prevalent in women veterans is intimate partner violence, according to a comprehensive analysis of suicide among women veterans produced by the Disabled American Veterans.
“More women than ever are serving in the armed forces in all occupations, and the population of women veterans will continue to grow,” noted Joy Ilem, DAV national legislative director in the report, Women Veterans: Journey to Mental Wellness. “We should welcome their contributions and do everything in our power to make sure they are made whole in light of the sacrifices they make for their country.”