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Bill would improve benefits for female vets in Oregon
Rep. Sara Gelser, Sen. Betsy Johnson created bill for female veterans' "unique" needs
Rebecca Johnson
Issue date: 5/19/09 Section: News
By Rebecca Johnson
The Daily Barometer
There is currently a bill making its way through the Oregon Legislature that is looking to improve benefits for women veterans in Oregon.
The bill was created under the efforts of Rep. Sara Gelser (D-Corvallis) and Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose).
"Women veterans have unique needs that must be addressed when they come home from serving our country. However, our current service structure was designed to serve a predominately male military," Gelser said.
The bill is just a preliminary action for women veteran service reform. The purpose of the bill is to set up a task force that would research what sort of services women veterans require and what changes need to be made within the current system to better accommodate for those needs.
"This task force is a great first step, but our committee is also committed to continuing to look closely at this issue. More and more evidence suggests that the needs of returning women are very different. We need to ensure that appropriate services are available," said Rep. Jean Cowan (D-Newport), chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Those special needs include proper care for sexual trauma victims, which occurs more frequently among women soldiers than men.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 22 percent of women who used VA for health care purposes were victims of military sexual trauma in 2007. VA describes MST as any sort of sexual assault or harassment experienced by a male or female while in the military.
From 2006 to 2007, post-traumatic stress disorder, hypertension and depression were the most prevalent diagnoses among female veterans.
A representative from the Salem Vet Center said that the facility does offer sexual trauma counseling. A problem that Gelser wants addressed is the fact that there are no female in-patient treatment facilities.
"There are only 12 beds west of the Mississippi reserved for women," said Valerie Conley, women veterans coordinator for the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs on the current availability of treatment for women at VA medical centers. Conley said there are currently 25,000 female veterans in the state of Oregon alone.
The Daily Barometer
There is currently a bill making its way through the Oregon Legislature that is looking to improve benefits for women veterans in Oregon.
The bill was created under the efforts of Rep. Sara Gelser (D-Corvallis) and Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose).
"Women veterans have unique needs that must be addressed when they come home from serving our country. However, our current service structure was designed to serve a predominately male military," Gelser said.
The bill is just a preliminary action for women veteran service reform. The purpose of the bill is to set up a task force that would research what sort of services women veterans require and what changes need to be made within the current system to better accommodate for those needs.
"This task force is a great first step, but our committee is also committed to continuing to look closely at this issue. More and more evidence suggests that the needs of returning women are very different. We need to ensure that appropriate services are available," said Rep. Jean Cowan (D-Newport), chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Those special needs include proper care for sexual trauma victims, which occurs more frequently among women soldiers than men.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 22 percent of women who used VA for health care purposes were victims of military sexual trauma in 2007. VA describes MST as any sort of sexual assault or harassment experienced by a male or female while in the military.
From 2006 to 2007, post-traumatic stress disorder, hypertension and depression were the most prevalent diagnoses among female veterans.
A representative from the Salem Vet Center said that the facility does offer sexual trauma counseling. A problem that Gelser wants addressed is the fact that there are no female in-patient treatment facilities.
"There are only 12 beds west of the Mississippi reserved for women," said Valerie Conley, women veterans coordinator for the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs on the current availability of treatment for women at VA medical centers. Conley said there are currently 25,000 female veterans in the state of Oregon alone.
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