Thank You for Hearing My Voice – Listening to Women Combat Veterans in the United States and Israeli Militaries

Daphna–Tekoah, Shir; Harel-Shalev, Ayelet; Harpaz‐Rotem, Ilan

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.769123

Cited by 7 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 71 publications

(105 reference statements)

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“…No studies were excluded due to concerns with quality (Appendix A). Most studies were from the US (n=11) 3,6,7,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] ; one study included participants from both the US and Israel 39 . Canada and the UK each contributed an additional study 40,41 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A Systematic Review of Military to Civilian Transition: The Role of Gender Female service members also experienced sexual objectification, sexual harassment and the threat of sexual assault 31,39,40 . These threats increased during periods of deployment, requiring a heightened sense of awareness and compounding trauma experienced by service members whilst on deployment 31,39 .…”

Section: Gender Inequality Misogyny and Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Systematic Review of Military to Civilian Transition: The Role of Gender

Smith,

Rafferty,

Croak

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background: The military-to-civilian transition can be a challenging period for many service members; however, recent research suggests that female ex-service personnel (veterans) confront additional complexities during reintegration into civilian life. This systematic review aimed to identify and synthesise findings across qualitative studies exploring the impact of gender on this transition process. Methods: Peer-reviewed literature was drawn from a multi-database search, limited to qualitative studies. The studies included either female veterans or both male and female veterans aged 18 years or older who had previously served in the Armed Forces within the Five Eyes (FVEY) countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States). We used a Framework Analysis approach to guide the synthesis of the qualitative data. An assessment of study quality was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Qualitative Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Studies. The study protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework (osf.io/5stuj). Results: In total, 10,113 articles were screened after the removal of duplicates, 161 underwent full-text review, with 19 meeting the eligibility criteria. The review identified twelve themes split across individual's experience whilst serving and after transitioning out of the military service. Both male and female veterans discussed a period of acculturation when they joined service and adapted to military norms, culture and identity. Female veterans faced additional challenges at this stage centred on the conflict between feminine norms and the military masculine ideal. Upon leaving service both male and female veterans experienced a loss of military identity and purpose, and dissonance with civilian norms illustrating a military-civilian divide. For female veterans, adjustments and adaptations learned in the military clashed with civilian feminine norms and stereotypically male veteran culture. Female veterans also struggled with the legacies of gender inequality, discrimination, and sexual assault which affected their development of a female veteran identity and affected the provision of services designed to meet their needs as a female. Despite these challenges, female veterans expressed pride in their service and accomplishments. Conclusions: Any effort to improve the military-to-civilian transition should take account of the legacy of gender discrimination, especially within the military service, and the potential mismatch between historical civilian female norms and the more traditionally masculine norms of military life. Disclosures: This project was supported by a grant from the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) 2202. Full ethical clearance was granted by the Health Faculties Research Ethics Subcommittee, King's College London. Project Reference: HR/DP-22/23-33303.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender Inequality Misogyny and Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Military to Civilian Transition: The Role of Gender

Smith,

Rafferty,

Croak

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…It is evident that combat veterans are more likely than the general population to screen positive for lifetime PTSD. Still, the issue of the combat trauma of women in Israel is understudied (Daphna-Tekoah et al, 2021; Zerach, 2023). The current study thus aimed to further extend the knowledge base on trauma and war experiences to include the voices of women combatants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Critical and Feminist approaches, clinicians and health professionals need to listen closely to detailed stories about traumatic events, while at all times taking into consideration all the dimensions of violence and trauma involved in power relationships and the points at which society and the individual interact (Enloe, 2019; Rajiva & Takševa, 2021; Warner & Castro, 2023). Mental health professionals, particularly those who hold public positions (as employees of the State, and/or the Ministry of Defense), sometimes occupy a paradoxical position, being simultaneously actors “for the state” and “actors for the individual’s well-being” (Daphna-Tekoah et al, 2021; Krumer-Nevo, 2020; Vest et al, 2019). As such, they often play an important sociopolitical role, for example, by “mediating” combatants’ narratives to various state institutions, thereby possibly preventing cases of self-harm, such as in the case of Saidian.…”

Section: Trauma: a Biological–psychological–social Injurymentioning

confidence: 99%

“Routine trauma”—Awareness of combat trauma in women combatants.

Daphna-Tekoah,

Harel

2023

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

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Objective: The current research aims to explore the nature of trauma experienced by female combatants. Method: Data were collected from two focus groups and a series of personal interviews with 100 women military veterans who had served in the Israel Defense Forces as combat or combat-support soldiers. Results: Interviews with these veterans revealed a variety of narratives about their war experiences, including an intertwining of the emotional and the physical. The ongoing danger and traumatic events that the combatants and combat-support soldiers faced on a daily basis were woven into their stories. These narratives indicated that—alongside their exposure to traumatic and potentially life-threatening situations—the soldiers also felt empowered and valued as a result of their military service. The women soldiers’ perspectives regarding their military service covered three main themes, “experiencing trauma,” “meaningful combat experiences,” and “the need to be heard.” Conclusions: Through qualitative research and narrative analysis, this study offers mental health professionals, policy makers, and scholars ways to gain a nuanced insight into women’s combat trauma that avoids categorization. Based on the research findings, we suggest that additional aspects of trauma can be understood through the study of women soldiers, who face a “double battle”—combat, with the attendant trauma, and the gendered biases of the masculine military environment. Our findings suggest that there is value in engaging with and listening to diverse narratives of trauma and emphasize the need for a critical perspective in the study of trauma and combat trauma.

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“…This leads to a series of gendered dualistic representations in geographical space: male represents public space, external space, work space, production space, power space, independent space, and so on, while female represents private space, inner space, reproduction space, leisure space, entertainment space, consumption space, dependence space, weak power space, and so on. Among these spaces, masculine spaces are productive and dominant, while feminine spaces are reproductive and dependent ( Daphna-Tekoah et al, 2021 ). This state is obviously unbalanced and not conducive to social progress.…”

Section: Theoretical and Realistic Basismentioning

confidence: 99%

Subjective Well-Being of Professional Females: A Case Study of Dalian High-Tech Industrial Zone

et al. 2022

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The education level and social participation of contemporary Chinese women have reached their historical peak; work is fast becoming the dominant theme of their lives. However, influenced by traditional attitudes, women are still expected to undertake the main family care tasks, thus, facing dual constraints of family and work, which seriously affect their life happiness. Based on the theory of subjective well-being and feminist geography, this study used the questionnaire survey and in-depth interview results of professional females in Dalian High-tech Industrial Zone as basic data to explore the life satisfaction and emotional cognition in intra- and extra-household life of professional females (Professional females: In this study, they are the women who have received formal education and currently have full-time and steady job (including regular employees in the national systems and those who have signed labor contracts with labor units).). The following results were obtained: (1) Most professional females reported higher life satisfaction in intra- rather than extra-household life, and it varied with individual attributes, reflecting the internal differences among them. (2) The positive emotions of professional females came from the company of family and friends in intra-household life, and satisfaction with the working environment and treatment in extra-household life. (3) The negative emotions came from the pressure of “marriage,” “birth,” and other traditional concepts in intra-household life. In extra-household life, it came from the health problems caused by working stress, interpersonal problems and gender inequality in the workplace, and the anxiety of age and future career development. Therefore, this study committed to revealing the living status and subjective feelings of contemporary professional females in China, hoping to improve women’s life quality and enhance their life happiness from a theoretical and realistic perspective.

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Thank You for Hearing My Voice – Listening to Women Combat Veterans in the United States and Israeli Militaries

Cited by 7 publications

References 71 publications

A Systematic Review of Military to Civilian Transition: The Role of Gender

A Systematic Review of Military to Civilian Transition: The Role of Gender

“Routine trauma”—Awareness of combat trauma in women combatants.

Subjective Well-Being of Professional Females: A Case Study of Dalian High-Tech Industrial Zone

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