Military Women’s Health
& Well-being
23/24 April 2025
The Centre for Military Women’s Research (CMWR) at Anglia Ruskin University is holding its second conference in April themed around the health and well-being of women in the military community. The first day of this international conference includes a wide range of speakers and panel discussions on women’s experiences during and after military service, ending with a drinks reception. The second day comprises a choice of four workshops on different aspects of the theme, concluding with a review and plenary.
The keynote speakers on the first day are:
Surgeon Captain Kate King (Head of Academic Department of Military General Practice, UK Ministry of Defence)
Professor Dawne Vogt (Professor of Psychiatry, Boston University & Senior Research Scientist at the Women’s Health Sciences Division at the National Centre for PTSD, Veterans’ Affairs)
On the second day, the keynote speaker is Professor Rose Ricciardelli (Professor of Sociology, Memorial University Newfoundland).
Conference information
Location and directions
The conference is taking place at ARU Cambridge, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT.
Timings and programme
Registration will open at 9am on Wednesday 23 April, with the conference starting promptly at 9.30am. The conference will draw to a close at 5pm, and the day will conclude with a late afternoon drinks reception and the opportunity to network with fellow delegates. On Thursday 24 April the programme will begin at 10am. There is a choice of four workshops on this day, and you will be asked to choose your first, second and third preferences when you book your ticket; we will try to ensure that everyone gets their highest preference where possible. The conference will conclude at 4pm on this day.
The full conference programme is as follows:
Wednesday 23 April 2024
| From 9am | Registration (tea and coffee) |
| 9.30am – 9.45am | Introduction and housekeeping (Yvonne Barnett and Lauren Godier-McBard) |
| 9.45am – 10.15am | Keynote: Kate King: “We don’t need to research women?” |
| 10.15am – 10.30am | Tea and coffee |
| Morning session: Women’s military experiences | |
| 10.30am – 10.45am | Amy Hill: Taking back the narrative: Putting servicewomen at the centre of military gender research |
| 10.45am – 11.00am | Emiel Maliepaard: Women in the military: linking a gendered division of labour and (lack of) perceived social support |
| 11.00am – 11.15am | Tamara Obradovic: An investigation of the rates and mental health impacts of military sexual trauma in UK female ex-Service personnel |
| 11.15am – 11.30am | Fiona Stainthorpe & Emma Hatfield: Sexual assault whilst serving? A forensic nurse advisor (military) as part of the regional sexual assault referral centre (SARC) service |
| 11.30am – 12.00pm | Panel discussion |
| 12.00pm – 12.45pm | Lunch and poster presentation |
| Afternoon session 1: The health of women in the military community | |
| 12.45pm – 1.15pm | Keynote: CMWR: Physical health of women veterans |
| 1.15pm – 1.30pm | Jennifer Hobbs, Georgina Holmes & Laura Mcleod: Fluid commitments: Gendering leaky militarised bodies within the women, peace and security agenda |
| 1.30pm – 1.45pm | Ruth Guest, Antony Willman & Kate King: “I feel abortion is still a taboo subject to talk about” – Abortion in the UK Armed Forces: A cross-sectional survey |
| 1.45pm – 2pm | Rachael Gribble: Alcohol use and eating behaviours among spouses and partners of UK military personnel: A qualitative mixed-methods study |
| 2pm – 2.15pm | Lyndsay Spencer: The perinatal mental health lived experiences of non-serving British military mothers; a longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis (LIPA) study |
| 2.15pm – 2.45pm | Panel discussion |
| 2.45pm – 3pm | Tea and coffee |
| Afternoon session 2: Women veterans’ experience of transition and civilian life | |
| 3pm – 3.30pm | Keynote: Dawne Vogt: Widening our lens to better support the mental health and well-being of women veterans |
| 3.30pm – 3.45pm | Bethany Croak: Barriers and facilitators to successful transition to civilian life for ex-servicewomen: the perspective of service providers and policymakers |
| 3.45pm – 4pm | Joy MacDermid: Exploring the impacts of sex and gender on the chronic pain management experiences of Canadian veterans |
| 4pm – 4.15pm | Kate MacEachern: Exploring sex-specific healthcare and the health and well-being of women veterans in Canada |
| 4.15pm – 4.30pm | Natalie Merryman: Dazzled and distorted: cultural camouflage concealing misogyny, gendered violence and identity harm experienced by women military veterans |
| 4.30pm – 5pm | Panel discussion |
| 5pm | Drinks reception |
Thursday 24 April 2025
| From 9am | Tea and coffee |
| 9.30am – 9.45am | Intro to the day: Matt Fossey |
| 9.45am – 10.15am | Keynote: Rose Ricciardelli |
| 10.15am – 12.30pm | Workshop sessions (tea and coffee break when ready mid-morning) |
| Session 1: Key considerations in military and veteran women’s research: lessons learned and future directions (Chris Edwards) | |
| Session 2: Working with women veterans in support services | |
| Session 3: Healthcare & research with servicewomen (Kate King) | |
| Session 4: Maternity healthcare & research with military spouses | |
| 12.30pm – 1pm | Feedback from workshop sessions |
| 1pm – 2pm | Lunch and poster presentation |
| 2pm – 2.30pm | Hannah West & Liza Jarvis: The Female Veteran Transformation Programme |
| 2.30pm – 3.30pm | Margaret McKinnon & Alexandra Heber workshop: Trauma-informed leadership training to address and prevent military sexual trauma in military forces |
| 3.30pm – 4pm | Plenary |
| 4pm | Finish |
Tickets
To book a conference ticket, please go to the Anglia Ruskin online store – tickets cost £100 per delegate.
If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Caroline Tapper (caroline.tapper@aru.ac.uk).