'Invisible Veterans': Women Veterans In The UK Criminal Justice System

Forward Assist recognise that women veterans are a hidden, marginalised, frequently ignored & forgotten population. We are actively campaigning for equitable mental health support services & post service employment opportunities. Find out more: https://www.forward-assist.com/salute-her

Forward Assist is a registered charity (Charity Number 1150408) based in the North East of England and led by Chief Executive and Founder Tony Wright, a Qualified & Registered Social Worker, former Probation Officer and Government Advisor with over 30 years’ senior managerial experience of working in a variety of Social Work and Criminal Justice settings. Forward Assist provide support and guidance to former servicemen and women that experience difficulties in adjusting to a new life as a civilian. Forward Assist offer inter-generational support to both male & female veterans and their families. Our clientele is aged between 18-97 years of age and come from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds. Forward Assist has specialist expertise in working with unemployed veterans and those with direct experience of homelessness, involvement with the Criminal Justice System, family breakdown and/or chronic social exclusion. We know that many of the Veterans we engage with have had difficulties accessing support in relation to, mental health and/or service related mental health issues or injuries. Our specialist support workers and therapists assist veterans to access specialist services, navigate the welfare system and claim benefits to which they are entitled.

A large percentage of our group membership is socially isolated or disenfranchised from mainstream services. In response we use ‘Community Benefit’ projects to give our military veterans a sense of purpose, direction and a sense of belonging. These projects give military veterans an opportunity to utilize their transferable organizational & leadership skills. Sport and physical activity plays a big part in our service delivery and we have had some outstanding outcomes for both able-bodied & disabled veterans because of our unique and innovative interventions. Forward Assist is recognised as being at the cutting edge ‘best practice’ and has a comprehensive understanding of the key issues facing those making the transition from Soldier to Citizen. The veterans we work with, help us understand where the gaps in service provision are and we have been able to design an organization that is 'needs led' and not service led. As a charitable organization, we play a critical role in providing support to individuals that have multiple complex issues that can sometimes overwhelm mainstream service providers.

Women Veterans

 Whilst the majority of veterans accessing the services of Forward Assist are male we are acutely aware that women Veterans remain a somewhat hidden population in the UK with similar but very distinct support needs. We now have a gender specific women veteran service called Salute Her UK who carry a caseload comprising of over 400 women veterans. Our gender specific consultation groups, political campaign team and research collaborative give us a unique insight to the issues impacting on women during and after military service.

 Initially, online discussions enabled us to explore barriers to engagement and give us greater understanding of what their needs were.

The women we spoke to disclosed that they felt uncomfortable telling people that they had served in the military and felt that all services where geared to men’s transition rather than women’s.

In 2011 Tony Wright CEO, was awarded funding from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and travelled to the USA to research services for military veterans with multiple complex needs and discovered that women veterans were over represented in both the homeless and Criminal Justice System.

On 1st April 2016 Forward Assist were awarded funding by the then Northumbria Police & Crime Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird to explore how many Women veterans were involved with the Criminal Justice System in the North East of England.

At that time, our women veterans lead organised a meeting with the Governor at HMP Low Newton in Durham, to discuss the aim of our PCC funded research project. During the course of the meeting he advised that out of 444 prisoners that were incarcerated at that time only five female inmates had been identified as veterans within the last 3 years and unfortunately, none of those were currently serving a prison sentence at his establishment. We asked about the nature of their offending and these included animal cruelty, domestic abuse and drugs & alcohol offences. It was also noted that women veterans had to identify themselves as veterans rather than the prison having this on record at point of entry into the Prison system. It is highly possible that many more women veterans serving custodial sentences have chosen not to disclose their military past and slipped through the net.

Similarly, back in 2016 a meeting was arranged with the then Deputy Chief Executive at Northumbria Community Rehabilitation Company and he was unable to identify any female veterans that were subject to Community Rehabilitation Orders. This was probably more to do with services not recognising women as belonging to the CJS Veteran cohort. More recently, it is estimated that up to 1% of all incarcerated women are veterans.

 In June 2016 Tony Wright CEO Forward Assist was invited to take part in the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) led All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) On Social Work. (An inquiry into Adult Mental Health Services in England). (Published in September 2016)

Led by Emma Lewell-Buck MP, we were able to highlight the lack of specialist mental health services available to women veterans in the UK.

 Forward Assist was delighted to see that the needs of Female veterans were incorporated into the recommendations.

 The issue of specific occupationally-related mental health risks was an area flagged in the inquiry. Army veterans are one occupational group that is historically and currently under-served by our mental health services. Almost three million British Army veterans live and work in the UK with an estimated three to five thousand re-entering civilian life each year. Due to the trauma that may arise from serving in the military, many former service personnel will be experiencing mental distress to a lesser or greater degree. Their mental health needs can often have significant social and financial dimensions, including matters such as the integration back into civilian family life and parenting roles. The evidence gathered in the inquiry also suggested that the needs of female veterans have been particularly overlooked.

24. Ensure that veteran mental health services continue to be supported and ensure plans include social work interventions that deliver preventive and restorative outcomes.

 25. Establish a government inquiry into the mental health of female veterans with a focus on developing a framework to support them.

 Running concurrent with these findings, Emma Lewell-Buck MP has asked numerous Parliamentary questions to try and ascertain the Governments/ MOD’s position regarding support for women veterans. On 5th July 2016, she received the latest data from Sir Mike Penning MP the then Minister of State (Ministry of Justice). However, he was unable to provide, details of the nature of the offending that led to incarceration or provide details of support provided to the women during and after release.

 ‘No one goes out of their way to end up in the criminal justice system. I came close, but was able to understand that what I was about to do was wrong in so many ways. I believe PTSD has a massive part to play in thoughts and behaviour (some may disagree with me) the problem with PTSD is that we don't realise that our thoughts and behaviour are being controlled. I believed I was making the right decision. I did realise, thinking the way I was, was very out of character and sort help.’’ (Woman Veteran)

 ‘I would say mental health and lack of support. I was lucky to come out to a supportive partner and family but some people don't have that. I watched some of my friends be discharged at 24 years and all they knew was the army, we all really worried for them all have kept themselves straight and narrow but would have been easy for them to slip. I see crimes such as burglary been down to struggling to find work and support, and assaults been down to struggling with mental health and again lack of support.’’ (woman Veteran)

Forward Assist has recently returned from its third research trip to USA. During our time there we visited numerous Government organisations and specialist services that support Women Veterans after military service. We met with a large number of women veteran support services, including the Women Veterans Lead at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington DC . We also visited the Department of Veterans Services in Virginia and Congressmen Connolly’s Staff Team and were delighted to host us as guests of honour at Fairfax Veterans Treatment Court.

 The US are very advanced in their general care and understanding regarding their support needed for military veterans and are able track where veterans are after leaving the services. They are therefore, able to signpost women veterans to localised specialist support services.  Any woman involved with Veteran Treatment Courts is immediately allocated a Woman Veteran Court Mentor who helps facilitate access to mental health support, drug & alcohol advice as well as case managing and coordinating care.

On 14th March 2017, Forward Assist were invited to take a group of women veterans to the House of Lords to give evidence on their ‘ lived experience’ as part in the Social Work All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Work. The session was focussed exclusively on Women Veterans mental health needs. During this meeting the attendees shared their personal experiences with several women Members of Parliament, Dame Vera Baird QC and the British Association of Social Workers.

Emma Lewell-Buck MP shared the following information;

·        There are currently 3 million veterans in the UK with between 3000 and 5000 re-entering civilian life every year.

·       Women veterans are neglected by politicians and by wider support services. Services that do exist are specifically designed for men.

·       There has been no national mapping done to find out what happens to women veterans after service.

·       Between October 2015 and September 2106, 6,115 armed services personnel – 1,188 of them women - received a MoD mental health disorder assessment (this does not include all of those people who went for help elsewhere).

·       Between July and December 2015, 1,439 members of the armed forces – 40 of them women - went to prison.

·       US studies show that women veterans are 2 to 3 times more likely than the general female population to take their own lives.

·       The APPG on Social Work’s Mental Health Report recommended that mental health services for all veterans include social work interventions that deliver preventative and restorative outcomes as well as establishing a Government inquiry into the mental health needs of women veterans.

 Following on from the APPG Round Table event, Anne Marie Trevelyan MP raised the issue of social isolation with the then Prime Minister Theresa May at the Prime Ministers Question Time on March 22nd 2017.

Over the last four years we are proud to have highlighted the plight of women veterans both nationally and internationally. The women in involved in our research and service design can be proud of the progress made to date. Salute Her UK is a ground breaking project and the team has developed a best in class gender specific service, that is both fit for purpose and appreciated by those that use it. We have also facilitated peer led research trips to Holland and The USA and arranged life changing meetings with the Veterans Institute in Amsterdam and the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington DC. We have also facilitated several women only consultation events, including four residential therapeutic retreats in Northumberland and France.

We are delighted to be opening up a new front supporting women veterans and intend to create a bespoke ‘women only’ charity , Women Veterans ‘Trauma Informed’ Community Support Team and a Health & Wellbeing Centre of Excellence in the North East of England during 2021.

Tony Wright CEO

Veterans & Homelessness

It wasn’t that long ago that homeless veterans were a hidden population. Every Day Centre or Direct Entry Accommodation project in the country had one (or more) but 10 years ago, nobody joined the dots or asked why so many veterans were living chaotic lives with multiple and complex unmet needs.

As a Probation Officer I remember having a conversation with a newly qualified colleague who had just had her first encounter with a veteran subject to a Probation Order. The man who had served 16 years in the Army and had struggled to make the transition back to the civilian community both psychologically and physically, and had until recently, been living in trench he had dug for himself rather than sleep rough on the streets in the City. He told her that pride was the motivating factor behind his reasoning and said that… 

“I’m not homeless; I am living tactically”

He said he had used the skills he had gained whilst serving, to tactically situate himself where he could not be seen by the general public. He was for all intents and purposes an ‘Invisible man’

 Many of the individuals who access support from Forward Assist report similar experiences of sleeping and living in ‘shell scrapes’ and ‘home made shacks’. I recall working with a Veteran who served for 10 years, was suffering from adjustment issues and had a diagnosis of PTSD. He was living in a small tent when he referred himself to our service. With the help of a solicitor that provides ‘pro- bono’ legal advice to our veterans it was established that the eviction that led to his becoming homeless was for all intents and purposes illegal and with the help of a supportive local authority Housing Manager we managed to get him re-housed very quickly with SSAFA providing essential household furnishings.

 The other veteran was a former member of the Parachute Regiment and had been medically discharged after serving 6 years. He was living in a garden shed following the breakup of his marriage when we heard about his plight. A visit by our crisis team confirmed the situation and as a ‘stop gap’ emergency measure the man was accommodated over the weekend in a local Bed and Breakfast Hotel. This was followed up with face to face contact with the local authority housing department and they took over the cost of accommodating him in the hotel until suitable accommodation could be found.

In the interim, the veteran had weekly contact with our Outreach team who liaised with the council and other support agencies to ensure a robust package of support was in place and some weeks later he was offered a local authority two bedroom flat which he accepted. Again SSAFA were superb and very quickly provided essential electrical goods to allow this man to once again re-establish himself in the community. The above scenarios could quite easily have had a different outcome and one that would have cost society a significant amount of money if the veterans, both had past involvement with the Criminal justice System, had re-offended. As one guy said,

“Its difficult to accept help when you feel so ashamed.”

 Many years ago I managed a Day Centre for the homeless and on winter nights we would carry out ‘street outreach’. I know from experience that at least 6% or more of the rough sleepers that we encountered were former service personnel. They were generally the individuals that the homeless sector staff had given up on and deemed as unresponsive and not worthy of the effort to cajole back off the streets and into some sort of emergency accommodation.

The housing workers at that time held a similar view stating that it was a pointless exercise helping veterans as they always chose to return to the streets anyway. Sometimes it was because they could not connect with a civilian case worker and other times it was because they were evicted because of their unruly behaviour and failure to comply with house rules or simply because they never paid their rent. Either way, everyone seemed to have given up on them. For many their engagement with mainstream services was usually followed by a ‘Wild West’  ‘Saloon Door’ exit! Rejection is a painful emotion.

Thankfully things have changed in recent years with numerous ‘veteran specific’ accommodation projects and support groups stepping up to address this gap in service delivery. Sadly, even today there is no accurate data on how many Veterans remain homeless, are sofa surfing, have drug and alcohol dependency issues and/or have involvement with the Criminal Justice System. All of which can severely impact on future employment opportunities and life chances.

So what does happens to veterans when they make the transition back to the community after a spell in the Armed Forces? Well the lager service charities will tell you that 95% make the transition really well and settle down, get a job and get on with the rest of their lives and do not come to the attention of welfare services. That’s not to say they do not experience difficulties its just that they don’t end up coming to the attention of Social services , the Criminal Justice System, Mental health services, or drug and alcohol addiction specialists. Personally, after 12 years working in the sector I think 70% of veterans successfully transition and 30% struggle to adjust to civilian life.

In my experience many veterans live lives perpetuated by a series of unfortunate events that quickly lead to ever decreasing options and opportunities. The problems usually manifest themselves in one or more of the following; relationship breakdown, social isolation, drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness, debt, poor mental health and physical health, involvement in the Criminal Justice System, exclusion from mainstream services and long term unemployment.

 Even now, when former service personnel present themselves as homeless they are not, in many cases, classed as in need of priority housing. Those with a physical disability, quite rightly have preferential treatment, especially if that disability is a direct result of their service. Unfortunately the majority of the veterans we work with have invisible wounds. PTSD, adjustment disorder, survivor guilt , moral injury , undiagnosed TBi’s depression or other mental health related problems.

In Summary, we all have a collective responsibility to support those we have put in harm’s way. However we need to be a little more proactive in identifying veterans at first point of contact to stop them from slipping through the welfare safety net. We can do this by insisting all organisations ask the question;

‘Have you served in the British Armed Forces?’

Not everyone identifies with the term Veteran, especially women. If you work in the caring profession ask your organisation to include it on your data collection sheets. If you are an employer do you know how many of your staff served in the military? if you don’t then ask… the question?

By doing so you would be affording researchers a golden opportunity to collect data on the veteran community but also opening doors to a variety of funding and support that veterans are both entitled and deserve.

 Tony Wright CEO

Veterans, Social isolation, The Criminal Justice System & Other Ramblings!

Over ten years ago back in 2010, I was asked to write a response to an article written by Peter Walker in ‘The Guardian’ Comments Section on Wednesday 11th August 2010. He highlighted a Sport Radio advert that had been banned for potentially causing serious offence; the advert paid for by The Association of Chief Police officers (ACPO), allegedly;

 “…..urged listeners to consider calling the police’s anti terrorist hotline if they had suspicions about local people who avoided company, kept their windows covered and eschewed bank cards for cash”.

 Apart from potentially demonising a sub section of the population for whom socio-economic reasons may have dictated that they did not have the luxury of banking facilities. The article also ran the risk of drawing undue negative attention to those that may have been eccentric in nature, enjoyed solitude, suffered from hay fever, agoraphobia, depression or were are unfortunate enough to have a skin disorder that necessitated staying indoors and away from the sun. Perhaps they were elderly and like a lot of old people just wanted to keep warm? Whatever the scenario the scheme was ill thought out and probably very expensive to initiate.

  My response was never published. Simply because, I pointed out that the behaviours described by the Police as indicative of ‘armed terrorists’ were also that of lonely and/or self isolating veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and Adjustment Disorder.

 At that time, the editor told me that no one would understand where I was coming from so they decided not to run the story! Thankfully things have changed over the years, yet there are still areas that lack understanding, awareness or adequate research.

 One consistent, under researched and underreported sub group in the UK are veterans involved with the Criminal Justice System. An increasing number of the Veterans we work with can be classed as experiencing chronic social exclusion and are at times labelled 'uncooperative’, ‘hard to reach’ with ‘multiple complex unmet needs'. Regrettably we are seeing more and more disenfranchised veterans who are unable to engage with a society that does not understand them and as a consequence, mainstream services are unable to offer specialist or practical support.

Ten years ago our understanding of veteran issues and the problems faced by those former service personnel involved with the Criminal Justice System increased enormously due to the forward thinking of ‘trailblazing’ individuals and organisations such as Harry Fletcher (NAPO) and Elfyn Llwyd MP, Nick Wood, Lord Ramsbotham, Trevor Philpott OBE and more recently several organisations specialising in Justice System Involved veterans. Promoting and representing the needs of one of the most marginalised and misunderstood groups in our society is in many ways a thankless task but a campaign that must nevertheless continue to be championed at all costs.

 Individually and collectively the above mentioned, have changed the way we think about veterans involved with the CJS. What is really interesting is that none of the above were ever tasked with the responsibility of raising awareness or addressing this much neglected sub group via grass roots interventions . All came to it with a genuine desire to right a social injustice, and did so in their own time, at their own expense and with very little support or recognition. I for one would like to thank them for their contribution and selfless actions as their forward thinking has transformed many lives and reduced offending significantly.

 Yet, I digress, …what I did say in the ‘never to see the light of day’ article, was that the behaviours described by the ‘anti terrorist hotline’ mirror those of former forces personnel that both Forward Assist & Salute Her regularly encounter on a daily basis . Many of the veterans that are referred to our service find themselves disenfranchised from mainstream services and support networks and this leads to self imposed isolation, self harm, risky behaviour and in some cases suicide.

 It is now widely recognised that a significant number of former service personnel when returning from active service or after serving custodial sentences have a tendency to self isolate; self medicate with alcohol or drugs, and only communicate with the outside world via ‘Face book’, rather than having ‘face to face’ contact with friend’s family or peers. I’m not knocking social media in any of its forms. Its a life saver!(The latter becoming an absolute necessity during the recent C-19 pandemic and lockdown.)

C-19, notwithstanding, many veterans choose to carry out their financial transactions with cash as they live on Armed Forces Pensions and choose not to claim unemployment benefits. Many report that they keep themselves to themselves as they feel they have nothing in common with civilian society and struggle to re-assimilate with a community they left behind both physically and psychologically when they joined the Military.

Many veterans on release from prison (if they are lucky enough to have accommodation) may as a way of coping and surviving try to give themselves space in order to  ‘get their shit together’ (sic) Shutting the curtains and rarely going out during the day may be the only way they can take control over their lives. They may be experiencing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress or adjustment difficulties. Societal disapproval, real or perceived, when coupled with a sense of failure and the lack of empathetic support services can have a negative emotional impact on the ‘returning soldier’, and aggravate a sense of disassociation, it can destroy connectedness with the civilian community and increase the chances of, self harm, self destructive behaviours’, increase the risk of offending and the likelihood of those on the ‘receiving end’ to become reclusive and addicted to drugs and/or alcohol.

 A significant number of veterans that access our services are subject to Probation Orders or have recently left Prison and pre C-19 only ventured out to meet the requirements of their licence conditions or community based court orders. The simple act of joining a veteran specific mutual support group, of which there are now many has helped connect thousands of veterans to much needed psych-social support. In the past, many veterans reported that they were unable to meet their Court ordered requirements due to the episodic nature of their mental health issues anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder or (PTS) and a lack of awareness of the issues affecting transitioning veterans and were ultimately breached. Thankfully, every cloud has a silver lining and the recent pandemic necessitated a much needed change in reporting practices so veterans on Probation were able to connect with their allocated officers via zoom (or something similar) resulting in excellent compliance rates. Sadly, for incarcerated veterans, many find a hierarchical environment and structure that they are familiar with, a place of safety where everyone has a role and a position. A dysfunctional utopia....but for a few, a utopia for veterans nevertheless!

 One of the categorisations to describe veterans that I’m told hasn’t helped is calling all service personnel Heroes. The title brings with it images of glamour and social standing along with an expectation of exemplary behaviour. The bizarre phenomenon of 'putting all soldiers on a pedestal' leaves a significant number of recipients with only one way to go....and that is downhill. It really does not matter how a 'hero' fails to live up to the anticipated expectation; once they become involved with the Criminal Justice system many view themselves as disgraced. In their own eyes they are confused and ashamed and continue struggle to come to terms with the change in status and how best to reinvent themselves following release back into the community. Shame is a very negative and destructive emotion. Self harm in all its guises is an all too easy option for the disenfranchised veteran, sometimes and increasingly with tragic consequences.

 Anecdotal evidence from those working in the Criminal Justice System or Social Care settings has recognized that this problem has always existed and some of us have known about this problem for many decades, but the distinct needs of this misunderstood and marginalised group have always been systematically overlooked and ignored by the MOD and Governmental Agencies and in many cases Armed Forces Charities, who worried that working with veterans involved with the Criminal Justice System would damage their reputation. A short-sighted and discriminatory practice indeed.

 I recently had a conversation with a Senior Probation Officer in Newcastle upon Tyne who described the recent interest in Veterans within the Criminal Justice System as nothing more than ‘a fashion’ that would run its course until the next disadvantaged group came along. This personal view point initially surprised me and could be described as both insensitive and naïve. Yet in many ways their are right, as history has shown that the needs of veterans have come in and out of vogue following periods of war since time immemorial. Sadly in the UK it has always been left to the Service Charity sector and the Regimental Associations to act as the MOD’s and successive Governments ‘sticking plaster’.

“When veterans become involved with the Criminal Justice System it affords all of us with a crucial opportunity to help them. In order to do this we need to first of all recognise that they exist! Secondly, we need to understand the unique factors that make them a distinct group within the offender population and therefore worthy of continued specialist support during and after any period of incarceration.”

The recent establishment of the UK Office for Veterans Affairs is a quantum leap forward as they can learn so much from our American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and European counterparts. Yet, ignoring the contribution of small locality based veteran centric charities ,CIC’s and unincorporated groups is a mistake, as it is this cohort of experts with ‘lived experience’ that delivered much needed practical, emotional , in kind and financial support to hundreds of thousands of veterans during the 2020 C-19 pandemic. You know who you are… and If nobody else has had the decency to thank you … I will… Its truly appreciated and rest assured you will have saved many lives.

In summary, we all have a moral obligation and ‘Duty of Care’ to support those we have put in ‘harm’s way’ and it makes complete  sense both practically and economically to support those that end up on the wrong side of the law whatever the reason for discharge from the military. I look forward to future examples of alternatives to custody for Armed forces Veterans. We are doing our bit in the North East of England but like all innovative initiatives new ideas need acceptance and appropriate levels of funding to develop such services and then share best practice. Lets hope 2021 brings enlightenment .

Tony Wright CEO Social Worker & Probation Officer