Intersection between family violence exposure and military service: Impacts on health, well-being, health care, and help-seeking

Rates of women entering military service in the United States have been increasing over a number of decades, and are expected to continue to grow. Women who serve in the military have elevated rates of childhood maltreatment and adulthood sexual and intimate partner violence. Through surveys and interviews with 249 women veterans receiving care at a Veterans Affairs medical center, we sought to understand the intersection between lifetime family violence exposure and military service. Seventy-two percent of the participants reported experience of psychological, physical, or sexual violence in childhood; 86 percent reported psychological, physical, or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV); and 39 percent reported forced or coerced sex in adulthood. Of those who experienced IPV, most experienced IPV during more than one time period (before/during/after military service), with more than two-thirds experiencing IPV after military service and more than a third experiencing IPV during all three time periods. In in-depth interviews, participants spoke about the ways in which experiences of interpersonal violence inhibited their ability to advance in their military careers, obstructing promotion or leading them to leave the service. Additionally, participants spoke about the combined effect of military experiences and experiences with violence affecting their health, access to resources, and help-seeking. Findings from this study hold implications for prevention of, and response to, interpersonal violence among women serving in the military with a call for military and veteran communities to recognize and address the high rates, and negative impact, of family violence before, during, and after military service.