Karen McCrimmon, Veteran
Photo Credit: Karen McCrimmon
Esprit de Corps Magazine July 2023 // Volume 30 Issue 6
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 52
by Military Woman
Question:
What has been happening at the Parliamentary study on the “Experience of Women Veterans”?
Answer:
In continuation from last month’s column (Vol 30 Issue 5), we resume our look at the military related women testifying at the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) study on the “Experience of Women Veterans.”
The study’s fifth meeting, held on April 27, 2023, heard from three powerhouse women with over 100 years of combined military service. First up was Rebecca Patterson – a retired Rear Admiral Nursing Officer who is now the only sitting Senator with a military background. She was followed by Karen McCrimmon – a retired Air Navigator and the past Member of Parliament for Kanata-Carleton. Last up was Lee-Anne Quinn – a retired Nurse Practitioner who is now the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment’s Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel. All three spoke to the many improvements in military women’s service conditions observed over their respective careers. The ongoing importance of women’s representation throughout the military, but especially at the higher ranks, was also highlighted. A hope was then shared that this government-wide increased representation of women at the senior decision-making levels would soon become more visible at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
The study’s sixth meeting, held on May 1, 2023, saw two serving Colonels testifying – Helen Wright, Director of Women and Diversity Health Strategy and Lisa Noonan, Director of Transition Services and Policies Group. Both women spoke to the $144.3 million over five years allocated to defence in the 2022 federal budget to develop more responsive health strategies for women. The health strategies are still being finalized but for now have four distinct lines of effort – 1) Prevention 2) Care 3) Quality Performance and 4) Research and Engagement. Once completed, it is hoped that these health strategies will serve to enable women to stay both healthy and active throughout their military careers.
Some health specific initiatives are already underway. Soon, each military medical clinic will have a dedicated Nurse Practitioner to help ensure timely access to sex and gender specific primary health care needs. Obstetrician-gynecologists are being hired to help review and update medically policies. New epidemiologists are being hired to increase the Surgeon General’s capacity for sex and gender specific research. An updated periodic health assessment “Part 1” questionnaire will be available shortly to better screen for female sex-specific health issues such as dysfunctional uterine bleeding, urinary incontinence, and sexual reproductive needs.
Some transition specific initiatives already underway include workshops targeting women’s employment issues. One transition program in particular hopes to help women learn to better translate their military professional networks into civilian community contacts and leads. Work also continues to ensure equity between the peer support programs being offered for those impacted by Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and Operational Stress Injuries (OSI). It was also noted that women prefer to find new health care providers that are open to holistic mind-body integrated care approaches; assuming of course they can find a civilian family doctor at all! Not easy!
Although all these new initiatives for women are welcomed and necessary improvements, more can be done. The ideal military health strategy has to be the optimization of a member’s health and wellbeing for life, not just until their release/retirement from the military. To fully understand the long-term health and wellbeing impacts of military service – National Defence researchers must work closer together with VAC researchers to develop lifelong or longitudinal studies. Furthermore, ideally all defence related health researchers will evolve towards enabling participatory research. Only with research that is co-created with lived experience representatives from the community being studied can true accountability in research be achieved.
If you, or anyone you know, has recommendations on how to further improve on the experiences unique to women Veterans – please contact the ACVA’s clerk at ACVA@parl.gc.ca. This study on the “Experience of Women Veterans” is expected to continue until mid-fall 2023.
See you next month!
In the meantime – remember – the ACVA wants to hear from you!!
