Intersection of Interpersonal Violence and Military Service: Women Military Veterans' Experiences

Background: The number of women entering military service in the United States has been increasing in recent decades, with expectations of continued growth. Women who serve in the military report elevated rates of childhood maltreatment and adulthood sexual and intimate partner violence compared with their non-military counterparts; however, we know little how women’s experiences with interpersonal violence intersect with their military service. The military is a unique institutional setting that may present particular challenges or opportunities not experienced in other employment contexts.  The purpose of this study was to explore this intersection by examining: 1) the timing of women veterans’ interpersonal violence experiences relative to their entering and leaving military service and, 2) women veterans’ perspectives on the ways in which their experiences of interpersonal violence interacted with their military service, including decisions to enter or leave the military and interactions with military service expectations and opportunities.

Methods: This mixed-methods study included two phases of data collection from women veterans, ages 22-64, receiving primary care services at a Veterans Affairs medical center. In the first phase, we conducted face-to-face surveys with a convenience sample of 249 women veteran patients about their experiences with various forms of interpersonal violence at three time periods: before, during, and after their military service. In the second phase, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a subset of phase I participants (n = 25) to gain more insight into their experiences with interpersonal violence and how these experiences intersected with their military service. We used descriptive statistics to identify frequency of IPV at each time period and an inductive approach to analysis of qualitative data.

Results: Seventy-two percent of the participants reported experience of psychological, physical, or sexual violence in childhood; 86 percent reported adulthood 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. Three categories of themes emerged from the in-depth interviews: 1) experiences of interpersonal violence prompting entry into military service; 2) experiences of interpersonal violence interfering with military service and military career advancement; and 3) military institutional factors interfering with or facilitating management of violence and help-seeking.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings from this study indicate that military service can serve as a resource for escaping interpersonal violence but that military service does not protect against experience of further interpersonal violence and this violence can interfere with women’s ability to continue military service. Findings also reveal unique ways in which violence and employment intersect in the military context. This study holds implications for prevention of, and response to, interpersonal violence among women serving in the military and underscores the need for military and veteran communities to recognize and address the high rates, and negative impact, of interpersonal violence before, during, and after military service.