Moral injury in women military members and Veterans: What do we really know?

The term moral injury has been used to describe suffering military service members' experience of non-life-threatening traumatic events that violate their moral code, such as killing or injuring a non-combatant, witnessing a fellow service member harm a non-combatant, or betrayal by a trusted leader. Service members who experience morally injurious traumas may feel intense shame, guilt, anger, and a lack of forgiveness toward others or themselves. In extreme cases, they may feel unworthy of living. This article examines existing information and knowledge gaps about the morally harmful experiences of women service members and Veterans. Anecdotal findings have shown that women service members face potentially morally injurious events through combat as well as military sexual trauma. Most research on moral injury has been conducted with the military population. However, in the United States, much of the scholarship has primarily focused on the experiences of men service members and Veterans. Although women service members make up 20% of the military population, research is limited to military women's unique morally injurious experiences. Further study is needed to explore and understand what events women service members and Veterans identify as morally injurious and how they experience moral injury. Capturing these perspectives is imperative to identifying and treating moral injuries.