Veteran Suicides Rose in 2021, Largest Spike Among Young Women Vets

An annual review of suicide among veterans found that rates increased in 2021 during COVID-19 lockdowns, with the largest jumps among young women with some military service, according to a report released Thursday the Department of Veterans Affairs. Among young women, when compared to their civilian counterparts who never joined the military, female veterans between 18 to 34 years old were nearly three and a half times more likely to take their own lives in 2021. And among women of all ages who died by suicide in 2021, veteran women were nearly three times as likely to use a firearm than a civilian.