Quite often, the problem of homelessness is thought to affect male veterans and not women perhaps due to stereotypes constructed by the society. The most prominent assumption is that women always get married or become engaged in some way and therefore, rarely lack shelter. Even media images portraying homeless people tend to focus on men, and in this way, tend to propagate the narrative that women are not affected. According to the American Institutes for Research (n.d), women veterans identified as homeless by Veterans Affairs increased from 1,380 to 3,328 from 2006 to 2010. Additionally, women veterans are two to four times more likely to be homeless compared to non-veteran women. Homelessness among women veterans exposes them to significant trauma that is likely to lead to sexual abuse, drugs and substance abuse, and other psychological conditions.
Homeless women veterans are vulnerable to sexual abuse. The American Institutes for Research (n.d) reports that about 1 in 4 women veterans screen positive for encounters of sexual abuse or threatening acts of sexual harassment. When exposed to the pangs of street life, some women veterans may become easy preys of sexual harassment because they may be lured by people with bad intentions. Such women may also be raped on the streets, especially at night. Going by the rapidly rising number of street families, the U.S. may experience an increased social burden because children born on the streets will ultimately need government support. Therefore, whether through being lured or forced to engage in sexual activities, homeless women veterans are at risk of abuse by people who take advantage of their predicament.
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Secondly, there is the risk of suffering from numerous psychological or emotional conditions. Lack of shelter is not only a cause of worry for women veterans but also any other homeless person. To make it worse, bad weather conditions such as snow or rainfall may make living on the streets quite painful. Sometimes homeless individuals are evicted unceremoniously from the streets from law enforcement agencies. Therefore, lack of a home is distressing, and can expose homeless veteran women to such conditions as depression, anxiety, and trauma (Kenny & Yoder, 2019). It is also a bad feeling for one to serve dutifully and passionately in the U.S. army and only to end up on the streets.
Some homeless women may abuse different drugs in an attempt to cope with their situations. The American Institutes for Research (n.d) indicate that for women veterans who are homeless, 32% struggle with substance abuse issues. Abuse of drugs is not only harmful to the health of these women, but is also a significant social issue. For instance, women caught dealing in the illegal drugs will be arrested and potentially jailed. There is also the potential of such women influencing other people on the streets to use the drugs. The biggest issue, however, is tainting the image of the army as molding undisciplined and reckless individuals.
To conclude, it is time for the society to firstly accept that women veterans can also be homeless. Secondly, being homeless for these women creates more challenges compared to men. Women mostly are defenseless, and as a result, are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. Trying to live honestly on the streets can lead to the perception of being docile and harmless. Therefore, homeless women veterans could be lured, and some may decide to use drugs to appear tough. However, all these culminate into emotional and psychological suffering, leading most of the women to lose track of their lives. Therefore, the relevant institutions need to act urgently and decisively to rescue to increasing number of homeless veteran women.
References
American Institutes for Research. (n.d). Homelessness and trauma in the lives of women veterans. https://www.air.org/project/homelessness-and-trauma-lives-women-veterans#:~:text=Women%20veterans%20are%20two%20to,homeless%20than%20non%2Dveteran%20women.&text=Exposure%20to%20trauma%20is%20a,rates%20than%20the%20general%20population.
Kenny, D. J., & Yoder, L. H. (2019). A picture of the older homeless female veteran: A qualitative, case study analysis. Archives of psychiatric nursing , 33 (4), 400-406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2019.05.005
