Ex-servicewomen
See Me is working on a new project, exploring the impact of mental health stigma on ex-servicewomen.
See Me, Combat Stress and SAMH have been awarded funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Trust on a new partnership project, to understand the nature of mental health stigma and discrimination experienced by ex service women in Scotland, and take forward work on how to tackle it.
The No More Shame project will work alongside ex-servicewomen to amplify their voices, challenge stereotypes, address stigma, and advocate for systemic change.
This work is building on our previous campaign with veterans, The Guard, which aimed to tackle self-stigma and barriers to accessing mental health support through sharing the lived experience of veterans via stories, photos and podcasts.
Creating positive change
The No More Shame project seeks to understand the barriers and enablers to women veterans feeling able to talk about their mental health and access appropriate support that is suited to their needs, as well as exploring the impact of intersections of other forms of discrimination like sexism, racism and homophobia.
We want ex-service women to feel heard, understood and supported around their mental health, as well as being an active part in making positive change.
This funding will help build a multi-layered programme of work, emphasising lived experience leadership, anti-stigma champions leading work in communities, awareness campaigns, social movements and advocacy, to create change.
Evidence review into the mental health stigma and discrimination experienced by ex-servicewomen in Scotland
As part of our No More Shame project, our colleagues at the Mental Health Foundation have conducted an in-depth evidence review to help us gain a clearer picture of how ex-servicewomen face mental health stigma and discrimination, based on existing research.
The document provides a summary of an evidence review which was compiled to support the development of No More Shame, looking into the key priority areas, challenges and enablers, as well as informing best practice for addressing the stigma and discrimination experienced by ex-servicewomen.
The review will support the formulation of a peer research project to test these findings and identify key settings to engage with, in addition to exploring the most effective ways to engage with these settings.
The review focussed on six key questions:
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Why and how do ex-servicewomen experience intersecting stigmas related to mental health?
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In what contexts/settings do ex-servicewomen experience mental health stigma and discrimination and what impact does this have?
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What is the nature of the intersectional stigma and discrimination they face?
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What interventions would help to tackle the stigma and discrimination ex-servicewomen experience?
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What role could peer support play in supporting ex-servicewomen around mental health?
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What have women said they would find most helpful?
Key findings
The review has shown us that there are 20,615 women veterans in Scotland, making up 12% of the total veteran population in the region.
Women veterans are more likely to experience mental health challenges such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety compared to their male counterparts. Specific statistics include 10.8% reporting PTSD, 28.6% reporting common mental difficulties, 11.1% reporting anger difficulties, and 12.8% reporting alcohol misuse.
Ex-servicewomen face unique challenges related to stigma and discrimination in both military and civilian healthcare settings, including a lack of recognition of their veteran status, misconceptions about their roles in the military, and gender bias in service design and delivery.
Discover the Guard
Read about our 2022 campaign, exploring mental health stigma for armed forces veterans.
Find out more