Women Vets Have More Than Double the Suicide Rate of Civilian Women
October 06, 2017
New findings from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) indicate that the suicide rate among female veterans is more than double that of female civilians. VA researchers analyzed data from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia for 55 million veterans over an approximately forty-year period. They found that the ratio of women veterans compared to non-veterans who died by suicide increased from 1.88 in 2013 to 2.15 in 2014. While suicide rates increased among both female and male veterans between 1999 and 2014, they increased more steeply among women than men. Nearly two million female veterans receive health care from the VA. Efforts are underway to better understand and address risk factors for suicide among female veterans, such as experiencing sexual harassment and sexual assault during military service.
Spark Extra! Access the veteran suicide state data sheets.