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In Honor of Women Veterans

At the Nevada Department of Veterans Services, we’re committed to delivering quality services to all Nevada veterans, and these pages will educate you – a woman veteran who proudly defended our freedom – about benefits and resources.

Women have served the cause of freedom in every war and every generation since the Revolution. Those we honor number some 1.8 million, including nearly 24,000 women veterans currently residing in Nevada. Today, more than 25 percent of our military strength worldwide is women, and women serve in almost every capacity in the armed forces, including in combat zones on land, at sea and in the skies. More than 177,000 women from across the country have served as fighter pilots, medics, military police and in other roles since the start of the Global War on Terror.

It’s all too common for women veterans to pack away their uniforms and memories upon return to civilian life, never to discuss their experiences again. Many women who honorably served don’t even realize they’re veterans – or realize their eligibility for benefits. Through these pages, we acknowledge your service and offer several resources to help you understand your status and what it means. By working together, we will achieve success in establishing a network to further communication and women veterans outreach.

Looking for help? See below for important phone numbers.

Nevada Department of Veterans Services
1(866) 630-VETS
1(866) 630-8387

Department of Veterans Affairs
1(800) 827-1000

VA Suicide Prevention Hotline
1(800) 273-TALK
1(800) 273-8255

Military Sexual Trauma

Military sexual trauma (MST) is the term that the Department of Veterans Affairs uses to refer to sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that occurred while the Veteran was in the military. It includes any sexual activity in which one is involved against one’s will – he or she may have been pressured into sexual activities (for example, with threats of negative consequences for refusing to be sexually cooperative or with implied faster promotions or better treatment in exchange for sex), may have been unable to consent to sexual activities (for example, when intoxicated), or may have been physically forced into sexual activities. Other experiences that fall into the category of MST include unwanted sexual touching or grabbing; threatening, offensive remarks about a person’s body or sexual activities; and/or threatening or unwelcome sexual advances.