Women in The Military

Forward Assist has always recognised that women veterans are a hidden, marginalised and frequently ignored and forgotten population in the UK. After over ten years of offering bespoke services to women veterans we were delighted to launch Salute Her UK as a stand alone registered charity in September 2021.

Background

Tony Wright, the Founder and CEO of Forward Assist, established the charity in 2013 in response to a pressing need for better support systems for military veterans transitioning to civilian life. Having served in the military and later worked extensively with vulnerable groups as both a registered Social Worker and Probation Officer. Tony recognised that there was a significant gap in services that truly addressed the psychological and social challenges veterans faced upon discharge. He founded Forward Assist with the mission to advocate for and support all veterans, particularly those struggling with complex issues such as mental health conditions, homelessness, substance misuse, involvement with the CJS, social isolation, and difficulties navigating civilian systems.

During his work at Forward Assist, Tony became acutely aware that women veterans were often overlooked within the broader veterans' support community. Many women faced unique challenges, including experiences of military sexual trauma, gender discrimination, and lack of recognition for their service. These issues were often compounded by a lack of gender-specific support structures. Understanding the need for a safe and inclusive space for female veterans, Tony initiated a dedicated women’s project within Forward Assist, aiming to provide trauma-informed care and a platform for these women to share their stories and receive targeted support.

As the women’s project gained momentum with dedicated funding from the Department of Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) he was able to prove its critical importance by initiating numerous ethnographic 'Lived Experience' research reports in partnership with Baseline Research to capture the hidden voices of women veterans. Tony personally allocated a grant he received from the Churchill Fellowship Activate Fund to develop, (with the support of the Forward Assist Trustees) a standalone initiative called Salute Her UK, a registered charity in England and Wales. The charity provides specialist services tailored to the lived experience of serving women and women veterans who served in the UK Armed Forces. This decision reflected both his commitment to equity in veterans’ care and a desire to ensure sustainability and visibility for a hidden population.Through this evolution, Tony and the Forward Assist Trustees, demonstrated visionary leadership and a deep dedication to honouring the service and sacrifice of all veterans, especially those whose voices had too often gone unheard.

Salute Her UK aims to ensure that all ‘Women Veterans’ have a choice in both service design and delivery. Team Salute Her UK is the only UK ‘gender specific’ support service, to offer tri-service, trauma informed, mental health therapy and interventions for survivors of in-service sexual abuse. They also provide needs led wrap around holistic care to women service personnel and veterans in a single sex environment. We know from research in the USA that multiple traumas contribute to suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, or death by suicide in women veterans:

  • Women Veterans experience significantly higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) compared to civilians

  • Thirty-eight percent of women Veterans report military sexual trauma (MST)

  • Thirty-three percent of women Veterans experience intimate partner violence (IPV) compared to 24% of non-Veteran women.

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