Vicky-Lynn Cox, Veteran
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Esprit de Corps Magazine June 2024 // Volume 31 Issue 5
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 63
By Military Woman
Question:
What’s next for the “Experience of Women Veterans” study?
Answer:
On May 6, 2024, the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs (ACVA) completed a comprehensive study, resulting in a report exceeding 100 pages. The report includes over 40 recommendations, drawn from the input of 93 witnesses and 10 submitted briefs. The next phase involves officially tabling the report in the House of Commons prior to its public release scheduled for June 12, 2024.
The Minister of Veterans Affairs is presently creating a “Women Veteran Council” (WVC) to advise her on matters such as how to best prioritize and execute the recommendations from this and other parliamentary reports. It is anticipated that the WVC will be functional by September 2024.
ACVA’s next study is “Transition to Civilian Life”. As part of this study, several women Veterans testified, including Vicky-Lynn Cox, on February 26, 2024. She highlighted some of the difficulties women can face when transitioning from the military, particularly concerning the reporting, and recovering from sexual misconduct related events. She recommended dedicated personnel should exist within the workplace transition process to address sexual violence prevention and care. Additionally, she emphasised the importance of automatic access to peer and mental health support for sexual misconduct victims and their families, similar to the supports made automatically available for individuals with operational stress injuries. She underscored how sexual misconduct can also affect the partners and children of women Veterans. While expressing gratitude for programs like “Camp Maple Leaf” and “COPE” (Couples Overcoming PTSD Everyday) from Wounded Warriors Canada, she also noted negative experiences with other programs. To ensure the well-being of all Veterans, she stressed the need for better oversight mechanisms, especially for women Veteran focused programs, including those funded by the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund and the Sexual Misconduct Support and Response Centre (SMSRC).
Vicky-Lynn Cox also reinforced the previous ACVA testimony of Marie-Ève Doucet. Both are previous airframe technicians, calling for increased government research on the impact of workplace reproductive chemical hazards on military/Veteran women and their unborn children.
Stephanie Hayward’s testimony on April 29, 2024, provided further insights to the Transition study. She called for fairer compensation, benefits, and support for reproductive system-specific service-related injuries, highlighting deficiencies in current policies and guidelines. She specifically referenced the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Table of Disabilities and Entitlement Eligibility Guidelines for minimizing the life-altering impact service-related injuries and illnesses can have with respect to fertility, pregnancy, birthing, and offspring health complications.
For women Veterans facing intimate partner violence, financial insecurity, housing instability, lack of childcare access, and reproductive health issues – she called for a more comprehensively support approach by VAC. More government efforts on reproductive health-related research and services, such as pelvic floor physiotherapy are also required. Improved childcare support programs would allow mothers access to their own medical care in private, without having to expose their young children to sensitive discussion topics and examinations.
Many others also contributed to the study on “Transition to Civilian Life,” including Carolyn Hughes, Paula McDonald, Rosemary Park, Sandra Perron and Donna Riguidel. Some noted the positive progress being made, while others encouraged work on women Veterans’ rights, including their human rights, medical rights, and employment rights to persist.
Addressing knowledge and data gaps about the full impact of military service on women and their family's health is essential and should be a priority. Neglecting the specific needs unique to women Veterans not only negatively impacts their quality of life but can also have long-lasting intergenerational effects. The establishment of military/Veteran women’s health as a standing agenda item on the Joint Steering Committee between VAC and the military is a positive step towards ensuring inter-departmental collaboration on these critical issues.
History will be made in the House of Commons on June 12, 2024, when the first-ever comprehensive report on the experience of women Veterans is tabled. It is hoped this report will serve as a catalyst for positive change for all those women who have served – past and present.
