Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Vol 17(1), Jan 2025, 29-37; doi:10.1037/tra0001622
Objective: The current research aims to explore the nature of trauma experienced by female combatants. Method: Data were collected from two focus groups and a series of personal interviews with 100 women military veterans who had served in the Israel Defense Forces as combat or combat-support soldiers. Results: Interviews with these veterans revealed a variety of narratives about their war experiences, including an intertwining of the emotional and the physical. The ongoing danger and traumatic events that the combatants and combat-support soldiers faced on a daily basis were woven into their stories. These narratives indicated that—alongside their exposure to traumatic and potentially life-threatening situations—the soldiers also felt empowered and valued as a result of their military service. The women soldiers’ perspectives regarding their military service covered three main themes, “experiencing trauma,” “meaningful combat experiences,” and “the need to be heard.” Conclusions: Through qualitative research and narrative analysis, this study offers mental health professionals, policy makers, and scholars ways to gain a nuanced insight into women’s combat trauma that avoids categorization. Based on the research findings, we suggest that additional aspects of trauma can be understood through the study of women soldiers, who face a “double battle”—combat, with the attendant trauma, and the gendered biases of the masculine military environment. Our findings suggest that there is value in engaging with and listening to diverse narratives of trauma and emphasize the need for a critical perspective in the study of trauma and combat trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)