Veterans Day 2011 Focus: Women vets and service members 7NOV11

TODAY IS VETERAN'S DAY. This from IVAW, Iraq Veteran's Against The War, highlighting the service and challenges facing women veteran's, including MST (Military Sexual Trauma), PTSD, homelessness and unemployment. You can show your appreciation by doing more than forwarding sappy e mails about supporting our troops. Click the link to get postcards from the IVAW (I did) calling on the commander of Ft Hood to address the lack of services and treatment for vets suffering from PTSD, TBI and MST and to do more to prevent vets from committing suicide.

Take Action for Veterans Day! Sign up here to help with our postcard campaign targeting Fort Hood Commander Campbell. Donate to off-set costs of postcard mailings. Send us your feedback. Veterans Day 2011: A focus on Women veterans' and service members' right to heal This Friday is Veterans Day, and IVAW's Operation Recovery campaign will be highlighting the experiences of women veterans and service members.  Of the approximately 2 million who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 200,000 are women.  Women service members and veterans face many of the same challenges that others in the military community face, but their experience is compounded by the institutionalized sexism and gender discrimination of the military and the VA system. What women veterans and service members are experiencing: Approximately 40% of active duty women have children, but military childcare is not meeting the current need and there are limited mental health services to help military mothers and their children. Many VA medical centers are not women-friendly, and half of the nation's VA medical centers do not have a gynecologist on staff. 1 in 3 women veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who were diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress also reported Military Sexual Trauma. Those women reporting MST were 4 times more likely to develop Post Traumatic Stress than those not reporting MST.  (MST also affects men. In FY 2010, the 45.7% of veterans who screened positive for MST were men.) While the Veterans Benefits Administration approves 53% of all claims related to Post Traumatic Stress, it accepts far fewer claims — only 32% — when the PTS is related to sexual trauma. Prosecution rates for sexual predators in the military is low; in 2010 less than 21% of cases went to trial. Of these, only 53% were convicted. Women veterans are are twice as likely to become homeless as women who never served in the military. In the last ten years, the number of women veterans who have become homeless has doubled.  Most of them are under age 35. It is harder for women veterans to find a job after the service. 14.7% of women veterans are unemployed. At Fort Hood, Texas, where our Operation Recovery campaign has been conducting outreach to hundreds of service members, women who are struggling for their right to heal face special challenges as well.  On a base that is home to approximately 50,000 troops and their families, there are only two staff people tasked with sexual assault care coordination for the entire military community.  Many women soldiers we've met struggle with getting childcare when they need it. Take action with IVAW this Veterans Day This Veterans Day weekend, IVAW chapters will be distributing postcards targeting General Campbell, Commander of Fort Hood, with 2 demands: 1) That he host a Town Hall meeting at Fort Hood addressing issues of military trauma, suicide, over-medication, and access to care for the Fort Hood community. 2) That he take serious steps to increase access to care for those soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress, Military Sexual Trauma, and Traumatic Brain Injury. Members of the Fort Hood IVAW chapter will be holding an action targeting the General with these demands. To get a stack of postcards to distribute to your friends or have us send a postcard to General Campbell in your name, sign up here. Join in a local IVAW chapter event near your community: Central Illinois - Contact: Scott Kimball NOV 10th - Action targeting Tim Johnson IL 15th District Representative on his voting against bills for justice for victims of MST. Chicago, IL - Contact: Aaron Hughes NOV 9th 5-9PM - Fatigues Clothesline Workshop at the National Veterans Art Museum, 1801 S. Indiana Ave. Chicago, IL NOV 10th 8-11PM - Occupied: Performance of War at the Hideout Inn, 1354 W Wabansia Ave. Chicago, IL NOV 11th 11AM - Memorial and speak out on the struggles and triumphs of women’s experience in the military at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Corner of E. Wacker Dr. and N. Wabash Ave.) Chicago, IL NOV 11th 5PM - Radical Vulnerability opening at the National Veterans Art Museum, 1801 S. Indiana Ave. Chicago, IL NOV 12th 3PM - Lonely Soldier Monologues at the National Veterans Art Museum, 1801 S. Indiana Ave. Chicago, IL Denver, CO - Contact: Kelly Dougherty NOV. 13th 7-8:30PM - Author Antonia Juhasz and IVAW members speak out at Unitarian Universalists Church of Boulder, 5001 Pennsylvania Avenue  Boulder, CO 80303. NOV. 17th - Poster Girl screening and discussion with star, Robynn Murray, and Sarah Nesson (director) Detroit, MI - Contact: Maggie Martin NOV 11th 3-4PM - Operation Recovery: Women in the Military speak out at Marygrove College, 8425 W. McNichols Rd. Detroit, MI Ft. Hood, TX - Contact: Kyle Wesolowski NOV. 11th - Killeen Poetry Slam highlighting veteran experience at Under the Hood Cafe and GI Outreach Center, 17 College St. Killeen, TX Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA - Contact: Andrew Wright NOV. 11th - A panel discussion followed by showing of Poster Girl at Coffee Strong 15109 Union Ave SW, Lakewood, WA Madison, WI - Contact: Todd Dennis NOV. 11th 8PM - Bandallamas and Friends at the Barrymore Theatre 2090 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI New Hampshire - Contact: Will Hopkins NOV. 11th - March with local Veterans For Peace in Manchester  San Francisco/Bay Area, CA - Contact: Matt Howard NOV. 9th 3:15-4:30PM - Screening of Poster Girl and talk by Dottie Guy and Emily Yates at City College of San Francisco, Rosenburg Library, RM 304, 50 Phelan Ave., San Francisco, CA NOV. 11th 11AM - Veterans Day March, Market St. San Francisco, CA  NOV. 13th 6-9PM - Public Screening of Poster Girl and panel discussion at San Francisco Quaker Meeting House, 65 9th St. San Francisco, CA New York, NY - Contact: Jose Vasquez NOV. 11th 6PM - Vetallica Benefit Show at Arlene’s Grocery 95 Stanton St. New York, NY Philadelphia, PA Contact: Amy Herrera NOV 10th 8PM - Women Are Veterans Day wheat pasting NOV 11th 12PM - Warrior Writer reading featuring Women Veterans at the  Penn University Book Store, 3601 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA - Contact: Joyce Wagner NOV. 11th 6-8PM Lay Down Your Arms at the Justseeds Global Distribution Center 3410 Penn Ave. 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA Rochester, NY - Contact: Ken Braley NOV 11th 5:30PM - Veterans of the 99% March and Rally at Washington Square Park, Rochester, NY In Solidarity, Iraq Veterans Against the War

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