Female military/veterans Suicide Risk

It is not just the male military members and veterans that are at high risk for suicide. Young female
veterans are almost three times more likely to commit suicide than non-veterans. The young are also
more likely to do so than older veterans.

Women in the 18 to 34 age bracket are at the highest risk, followed by those aged 35 to 44; and those
aged 45 to 64 were in the lowest risk group.

Data from 16 states, part of the National Violent Death Reporting System show that between 2004 and
2007, 5,948 female suicides in the age group 18 to 34 there were 56 suicides among 418,132 or a ratio
of 1 in 7,465. That was compared to 1,461 out of 33,257,362 non-veterans or 1 out of 22,763.

This should be a wake-up call to care givers and doctors to be more aware of warning signs, and to
take preventative action. Women can be forgotten and left out.

Women veterans also face very high homeless rates, and those with children are even more vulnerable.

The Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Please write that number
down and share it with every veteran you know who is going through depression and/or PTSD and
might be at risk.

So America it is time to stand together for all veterans, demand that every one of them be given
the proper care they need.

Jerald Terwilliger
National Chairman
American Cold War Veterans
"We Remember"

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996