Georgia Senate approves women veterans’ office

The Georgia Senate has unanimously endorsed the idea of creating a state office to serve female veterans.

“These women have served in the military … they have also been in combat roles, many of them. They’re experiencing the same mental and physical injuries as men but they have some unique issues and challenges that men do not face,” state Sen. Larry Walker III, R-Perry, told the state Senate on Thursday, explaining his Senate Bill 108.

The office will help link female veterans with resources, especially for dealing with issues that men either don’t face at all, or encounter more rarely than women. That could include things like pregnancy, being a caretaker for a family member or surviving military sexual trauma.

Part of the point is to make sure there are female staff available for issues women might prefer to discuss with another female. Many other states have a similar office.

The office would be part of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service, which favors the bill. Part of its job is to help all veterans, no matter their gender, get federal veterans benefits.

The bill now moves to the state House for consideration.

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Georgia Senate approves women veterans’ office."