Abstract
Australian women have served in overseas military operations since the Boer War (1889–1902) in Southern Africa. ADF gender restrictions have recently been lifted, and from 2016 will allow Australian women to participate in every aspect of future military service, including frontline combat. As the number of women in the ADF continues to increase, the health issues affecting servicewomen and female veterans can also be expected to rise. Similarly, as women’s roles change, the profile of service-related injury is also expected to change. Although the Australian servicewomen/female veteran cohort is relatively small in relation to other nations such as the UK and the USA, the research highlights a critical need to adjust the health care delivery and support model for female veterans in Australia and to recognize their vulnerability within existing veteran health paradigms. As more women are included within the contemporary veteran cohort, it is important that health professionals as well as policy makers and senior defense personnel, understand the gender-specific health effects of service on this emerging female veteran cohort. Understanding and meeting their ongoing health care needs must remain a national priority.
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Neuhaus, S.J., Crompvoets, S., Hodson, C.S., Raphael, B. (2016). Determining the Long-Term Health Outcomes of Servicewomen and Female Veterans: An Australian Perspective. In: MacDermid Wadsworth, S., Riggs, D. (eds) War and Family Life. Risk and Resilience in Military and Veteran Families. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21488-7_8
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