As the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have wound down, there鈥檚 been a sharp jump in the number of women returning from front-line duty. Kim Olson, a veteran herself, runs a North Texas nonprofit that focuses on these women 鈥� it鈥檚 called . She sits down with 四虎影院鈥檚 vice president of news, Rick Holter, for today鈥檚 Friday Conversation.
Interview Highlights: Kim Olson...
...on the biggest difference between female veterans today and those returning from the Korean War:
"What鈥檚 really different is that they鈥檙e young, they鈥檝e done multiple deployments, and they鈥檝e actually gone into harm鈥檚 way meaning direct combat. The battle space of our wars have changed. If you are in the area, you鈥檙e in combat because the rocket grenade launch missile doesn鈥檛 care what gender you are. We鈥檝e had men and women hurt in harm鈥檚 way."
...on the differences between men and women dealing with post-traumatic stress:
"I think it does because women process trauma differently than men. So it would make sense that the kind of therapies we need to get better has to look different than what works with a guy. But the legacy systems 鈥� the big bureaucracies that were set up to take care of veterans 鈥� was built around a 60-year-old male model.
Let鈥檚 contrast that with the female: 60 percent of our gals are married to other military men or veterans themselves and about half of those have school-age children, and she has different health issues than a 60-year-old guy. So that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e struggling around PTS and some of the other issues that you see are coming to the forefront around women veterans."
...on guiding a veteran who's experienced sexual assault in the military:
"What we find is that the best kind of therapy for that is one that works like the incest, because in a way, that鈥檚 kind of what it is. The military is a family, so when it betrays you, it is like your family has betrayed you. It is very important that you get counseling that addresses that trust issue.
That particular event is really what we find is the core problem for women who become homeless. For men, it鈥檚 different. Its mental health issues that lead to addiction and those kinds of things. For women, it is that event that will then drive her to the street."
