Female veterans are committing suicide at 250 percent the rate of female civilians, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In Connecticut, at least 10 of the 50 veterans who committed suicide in 2014, the most recent data available, were women. And that's only counting veterans receiving care at the VA.

Nationally, the suicide rate for female veterans from 2001 to 2014 increased by a greater degree than the suicide rate among male veterans.[naviga:img hspace="5" vspace="5" border="0" height="297" width="450" align="right" alt="" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/f4e12ce69d0e3fba575aa6570e39d9f8/tumblr_ox3gs2aDQv1qc6zmno1_1280.png"/]

The data was part of an update to a 2016 VA report that analyzed more than 55 million records from 1979 to 2014, the most comprehensive look at veteran suicides in the U.S.

Women are one of the fastest growing groups of veterans. Of Connecticut's 200,000-plus veterans, more than 16,500 are female. The number of female veterans in the state has grown by 10 percent in the past five years.

A 2016 survey of active-duty women and female veterans by the Service Women's Action Network found that they view gender bias as a major obstacle to success, and feel underappreciated by society. They listed their top community challenge as access to women-specific health care.

"I often hear from women 'I just wish I could meet other women veterans. I don't know how to meet other women veterans,'" said Lynette Adams, women veterans program manager at VA Connecticut. "Social support is a really large protective factor for people at risk of suicide."

As more women are entering the military, there may be an increase in the number of women accessing care at the VA. That, in turn, allows the VA to continue to build more programs geared toward women, Adams said.

From 2001 to 2014, the suicide rate for female veterans overall increased, but the rate decreased by 2.6 percent for those accessing services at the VA.

About 25 percent of female veterans in Connecticut are enrolled at the VA. This number has increased steadily over time, according to Adams, but there's still a large percentage of female veterans who are not going to the VA in Connecticut.

The VA, on a national level, has stepped up its outreach to women, letting them know about resources and programs specific to them. And it has "greatly expanded" its women-specific programming in the past five to 10 years, according to Adams.

"So I hope one of the reasons for those (VA enrollment) numbers going up is that women are realizing 'the VA can provide me with the gender-specific services that I need,'" she said.

There's a women veterans liaison at each of the VA's veterans centers in Connecticut, for example. And there's a number of mental health programs for women, such as support groups.

A few years ago, there was one only one group at the Connecticut VA for women who've experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment during their military service, commonly referred to as military sexual trauma or MST. A recent VA study found the rate of suicide to be higher among women who've experienced military sexual trauma.

Today, there are three such support groups.

"We find that women who are able to engage in these gender-specific programs are happier with their care," Adams said.

These programs can also provide female veterans with the social support that they might otherwise feel that they don't have, she added.[naviga:img hspace="5" vspace="5" border="0" height="311" width="450" align="right" alt="" src="http://projects.theday.com/charts/northeast-veteran-suicide-rates.png"/]

While the VA has expanded its offerings for women, veteran organizations are lacking in this regard, an op-ed written recently by two female veterans points out. The SWAN survey found that 71 percent of female veterans don't belong to a veterans service organization, and 30 percent said they don't feel welcome in existing veterans organizations.

A 2015 law directed the Connecticut's Department of Veterans Affairs, within existing resources, to create a women veterans program to let them know about federal and state benefits and services and to study their unique needs. A group meet twice that year, but hasn't met since, according to Emily Hein, spokeswoman for the state's Department of Veterans Affairs.

As was the case back then, the department's Office of Advocacy and Assistance has three female veteran services offices who act as liaisons for female vets, Hein said.

The national Women Veterans Hotline is 1 (855) VA-WOMEN (829-6636). The website is www.va.gov/WOMENVET.

For free, confidential support for veterans in crisis, call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1 (800) 273-8255 and press 1, or text to 838255, or chat online 24 hours a day at www.veteranscrisisline.net.

j.bergman@theday.com