Women make up about 20 percent of the U.S. military; and many of them are returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and enrolling at colleges and universities nationwide, including West Virginia University.

Forty-six female veterans – out of 360 total veteran students – attended WVU last fall.

Those figures encouraged Anita Mayer, director of WVU’s Undergraduate Advising Services Center and chair of the WVU Female Veterans Committee, to arrange an event to discuss the problems female veterans confront. The event, titled “Combat to College: Focusing on Military Women and their Families,” will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mountainlair ballrooms as part of WVU’s Diversity Week.

The event will include a brief presentation on the status of female veterans on WVU’s campus and will feature a discussion panel of five University and Morgantown community members who work with military women or have served in the military themselves. A reception will follow the event.

“Veterans often face obstacles adjusting to college life that the typical undergraduate might not encounter,” Mayer said. “Many female veterans also confront challenges that male veterans do not, such as child birth and the effects of sexual trauma incurred while serving in the military.”

Research has consistently shown a high level of sexual trauma experienced by active duty military women. In fact, an article in the August issue of the “American Journal of Public Health” found that 15.1 percent of female Iraq war veterans reported experiencing sexual trauma while serving during the war. The article also found that sexual trauma puts female veterans at increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and substance abuse.

“Memories and experiences do not just disappear with discharge papers or after enrolling at WVU,” Mayer said. “The effects of sexual trauma can be extremely damaging and painful years after the incident.”

Event Organizer Joshua Austin hopes that the WVU and Morgantown communities will attend the event to learn and contribute to the discussion of veteran’s issues.

“All students have unique needs and interests, but we want to ensure that WVU is training its faculty and staff to better serve its veterans, especially female veterans,” he said. “We also want students to be aware of the issues that female veterans contend with.”

The event is being sponsored by the Morgantown Branch of the American Association of University Women, WVU’s National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, Veterans Advocate Office and Office of the President.

-WVU-

ja/10/11/10

CONTACT: Joshua Austin, Undergraduate Advising Services Center
304-293-0550, Joshua.Austin@mail.wvu.edu