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What is the Female Veterans’ Transformation Programme?

The Female Veterans’ Transformation Programme will produce a toolkit for use by service providers in the commercial, statutory and charitable sectors, helping transform service provision for female veterans - the 250,000 strong group whose specific needs are not being addressed by current service provision. The toolkit could take the form of a digital resource, awareness-raising resources, or an interactive app.

The 3-year, UK-wide and tri-service programme is funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and NHS England, in partnership with the Cobseo Female Veterans Cluster and the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association.

“The programme aims to build a legacy where
female veterans feel confident to access the right support, at the right time, and in the right way for them,”

Colonel (Retd) Alison Brown OBE, Chair of the Cobseo Female Veterans’ Cluster Group.

Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Johnny Mercer said:
"I am thrilled to support the Female Veterans Transformation Programme (FTVP), who are playing a crucial role in ensuring the particular needs of female veterans are considered in the design and delivery of support services.

"In order to make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran, it's vital we listen to women's voices, celebrate their successes and provide the support they need. This is what the government's upcoming Women Veterans' Strategy will do.

"The OVA works closely with FTVP and it is this sort of collaboration, of government and the charity sector, that will ensure all members of the veteran community are rightly cared for."

The OVA particularly looks forward to seeing how the FTVP can support in raising service providers' awareness of women veterans' experiences and needs, with this resulting in more women being asked if they have served, and being aware and engaging with existing and future provision, so that they can maximise their opportunities.

The Women Veteran Strategy will look at the themes such as health and wellbeing, identity and accessibility of services, employment and skills, all through the 'lens' of women veterans, and the particular needs women may have in these areas. It will also consider the experiences women may have had whilst serving in the armed forces, and what longer term impact these may have had.

In June 2021 Anglia Ruskin University’s Veterans and Families Institute for Military Social Research (VFI) published the nationally recognised ‘We Also Served’ Report, bringing together everything that was known in the UK about the health and well-being of women veterans. This report identified numerous gaps in our understanding of women’s experiences in the military community and the impact of these experiences on their civilian lives.

Subsequently, the Centre for Military Women’s Research (CMWR)’s was launched by the VFI, with a core mission to inform and improve the wellbeing of women in the military and veteran community through world-leading collaborative research and evaluation. Click here to learn more about the Centre, their team and their research projects.

Ali Brown served for 27 years in the Army where she served in a variety of appointments with deployments to Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. Ali is Chair of the COBSEO Female Veterans Cluster, a Trustee of Fighting With Pride (LGBT+ Veterans charity), the Army Central Fund (ACF) which supports the serving community, the Adjutant General’s Corps Museum Trust and retains an advisory role within the WRAC Association.

We asked Ali the following questions:

• How did the COBSEO Female Veterans Cluster come about?

• What led to the decision to apply for funding for the Female Veterans Transformation Programme?

• What are you hoping the Female Veterans Transformation Programme will achieve?

• What has motivated you to continue working for female veterans since leaving the Army?

• What has been your proudest moment as a veteran?

To read what she had to say please click here.

The first thematic report of the Scottish Veterans Commissioner (SVC), Susie Hamilton, was published in January 2024. Community and Relationships – Anything But Uniform puts the spotlight on those whose voices are less often heard in the military community including women veterans, the LGBT+ community, families, the bereaved, and non-UK veterans. Following extensive engagement involving hundreds of veterans and their families, along with service providers from the statutory and charity sectors, the Commissioner found that while things are slowly improving, work has still to be done to ensure their experiences, needs and circumstances are not overlooked.

To read more about the findings of this report and the recommendations made to the Scottish Government, please click here.

Prior to retraining as an Occupational Therapist Lucy worked in military mental health research. During her Occupational Therapy training I became interested in combining both areas of interest to pursue her current PhD research.

Lucy's research uses photo elicitation. She invites service leavers to take photographs before, during and after their discharge from Regular or Reserve Service. The purpose is to use these photographs to discuss the things they need, want and have to do everyday. Her research aims to consider the everyday experience of military to civilian transition from an occupational perspective and work with individuals to create meaningful account of their real time transition experience.

Lucy is at Brunel University and can be contacted by email: lucy.wray@brunel.ac.uk. She would especially like to hear from anyone interested in taking part in her study. Participants need to be leaving the services (regular or reserves) and over 18. they would be asked to take photographs through their resettlement (before, during and after) and talking about them in online interviews over 9-12 months.

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If you’re a member of the Armed Forces, a partner, spouse, or a veteran you can get free access to thousands of discounts online from holidays, cars, days out, fashion, electronics and more when you sign up for your free membership. A Defence Privilege Card can also be purchased for £4.99 for access to discounts on the high street in stores, restaurants and venues and is valid for five years.

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