On August 24, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) hosted an event with female veterans in New Hampshire to discuss how Congress and the local community can best serve their needs. A Member of the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the daughter of a POW, Kuster has long worked to ensure that female veterans are receiving the specific care they need to transition successfully back into civilian life.

“Our veterans made extreme sacrifices to serve and protect our nation, and we must ensure they can access the services they need to make a successful transition back to civilian life,” said Congresswoman Annie Kuster. “This particularly applies to women veterans, who must be afforded the same opportunities as their male counterparts both at the VA and in their communities. I was proud to host today’s forum, which brought together women veterans and the organizations who serve them, so we can all better understand what more needs to be done in order to truly ensure all the needs of our women veterans are met when they return home.”

Kuster was joined at the forum by a number of local women veterans and representatives from Easter Seals, the Manchester and White River Junction VA, and employers with job opportunities for women veterans, among others. The event participants discussed a number of issues affecting women veterans, including demographics, access to health services – including those that are specific to women – ,treatment for victims of military sexual trauma, and opportunities for employment for female veterans when they return home.

Although local stakeholders and Congress are focused on improving access to care for veterans across the board, historically some women veterans have felt overlooked or that their needs were not fully being met or taken into consideration. Today’s event brought together veterans and stakeholders, so they had a chance to discuss these issues and help outline what additional steps local Veteran Service Organizations, VA facilities, and Congress can take to ensure that women veterans are properly served.

A Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Kuster has long pushed the VA to increase access to care for all veterans, including services specifically needed by women veterans. Kuster has toured the women’s center at the White River Junction VA Medical Center, and she has long urged the VA to use centers such as this one as a model for ensuring women veterans all across the nation can comfortably receive the care they need at often male-dominated VA medical facilities. Kuster has also been a longtime advocate for increased services for women victims of military sexual trauma; she is a member of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus and in 2013 she helped pass into law bipartisan legislation to enhance whistleblower protections for service members who report instances of sexual assault in the military.

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