New report claims gender gaps for U.S. military health care and other services

WASHINGTON — A new report says the Veterans Affairs Department and other government agencies are not doing enough to help women who serve in the military. It comes as the number of women in the military is increasing dramatically.

The report by the advocacy group Disabled American Veterans identified serious gender gaps in virtually every program that serves veterans. That includes health care, job training, finance, housing and combatting sexual assault.

According to the report, most deficiencies result from a disregard for the different needs of female veterans. Men far outnumber women in the military.

The report closely tracks an Associated Press review in June that found serious shortcomings in how the VA cares for female veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them of child-bearing age.