Women who have served in the military don’t always find the help and support they need once they give up their roles. A new study from the BMJ Military Health journal seems to suggest that the way they manage their mental health is different from how male veterans struggle.

This is a worrying study, given that only a small number of veterans are even able to access support as things stand. To say that women are even worse off means we have a fundamental problem on our hands. Amongst other things, the study cited negative gender stereotypes and a lack of appreciation for their role as former members of the military as reasons they shy away from help.

Most existing research is focused on men and their experiences with finding mental health support. Each year, over 1,000 women leave the military service, and their input to such a problem is crucial is understanding and tackling veteran mental health.

Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK worked with over 100 participants, where 57 were men and 43 were women. The online survey saw participants completing a 30-item ‘Barriers to Access to Care Evaluation’ scale.

The study results outlined that only a small fraction of men (26%) and women (30%) found treatment or support for their mental health needs while still in service. However, most men (72%) and women (79%) had found treatment or support after their discharge.

Around a fifth of both female and male veterans took more than 15 years to seek assistance after discharge, according to the 75 people who had received support/treatment after discharge.

The types of care differed between the sexes, with women slightly more likely than men to report using NHS mainstream services.

According to the findings, the majority of female veterans who had received support/treatment after discharge used non-veteran specific NHS programmes (61%), while just 19% used specialist veteran charities/third-sector organisations.

Male veterans were most likely to use either NHS facilities (33%) or specialist veteran charities/third-sector organisations (32%).

This may be because conventional NHS programmes had recognised the need for gender-sensitive services, and therefore could be considered to better address women’s needs than veteran-specific mental health services, according to the researchers.

Furthermore, it’s likely that female veterans did not associate with the word “veteran” and therefore did not seek out veteran-specific services.

Moreover, women also seem to be dealing with gender-specific image issues. For instance, some opted to prove their strength and ignored their own mental health needs for a need to disprove any weakness.

While the study did not have a large enough sample, it has brought forward some illuminating aspects of how female veterans tackle – or in some cases refuse to tackle – mental health.

Talking about the work the authors said, “While efforts are being made by the UK Ministry of Defence to reduce barriers to mental healthcare for those still serving in the Armed Forces, it has been more difficult to provide a similar level of support to the veteran population.”

“With little veteran research focusing on the specific experiences of women, this study suggests that female veterans encounter specific access barriers and issues related to their gender. Further research is therefore needed to ensure these findings are addressed,” they added.

The reality is that mental health is a profoundly genuine issue that requires genuine focus, irrespective of gender. Both male and female vets continue to suffer in silence once they return from active duty – and there is no reason for them to do so if they can find the right kind of help and support.