How Does your country measure up?
On May 1, 2017 the The House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs started to work on a Comparative study of services to veterans in other jurisdictions. Below are the responses provided on care for Military Sexual Trauma by six countries: Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and France.
Canada
MONDAY, MAY 1, 2017
Ms. Tracey Ramsey: "My next question is about something that has been a hot topic in the news. It's about military sexual trauma. Has Veterans Affairs looked at how other countries have treated those with military sexual trauma, who may or may not qualify for benefits under our current rules of service delivery?"
Mr. Bernard Butler: "Essentially, from a Veterans Affairs Canada perspective, we provide support for service-related disability. If an individual comes forward suffering from a mental health issue or another condition that's linked to service-related military sexual trauma, then that would be dealt with as any other benefit claim in our programming would."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-51/evidence
Mr. Bernard Butler: "Essentially, from a Veterans Affairs Canada perspective, we provide support for service-related disability. If an individual comes forward suffering from a mental health issue or another condition that's linked to service-related military sexual trauma, then that would be dealt with as any other benefit claim in our programming would."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-51/evidence
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2017
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "I have spoken to you, Ombudsman, about military sexual trauma, and I want to raise it here. I understand that General Vance has put in place some processes that hopefully will address it, and I'm very grateful for that. However, I'm still concerned about the resistance or the fears of young men or women in regard to reporting sexual trauma. For example, they may be depressed, suffer from PTSD, but the cause of that is not necessarily in the medical records. If it is, it becomes a matter of privacy and, therefore, it's not necessarily tracked by the military.
There's the problem with tracking and then there's the problem, as I mentioned, of fear. It's a fear that if they go through the court martial process they will be exposed and their career limited, or a fear that there won't be any justice for them, because when they go through the court martial process only about a half of those perpetrators are convicted, or at least that's the information I have.
In terms of your experience, are you hearing from young men and women in regard to military sexual trauma? If not, what can we do to make them feel safer in regard to reporting it?"
Mr. Gary Walbourne: "I don't want to go back in history, but this office was set up coming out of Somalia in 1998, because of the sexual assault allegations and so on that happened around that point in time. The chief of defence staff has introduced the sexual trauma team. I think they are starting to really get their feet under them. We still deal with sexual harassment and sexual assault cases, people who feel more confidence in our shop than others, and we offer it as a service. We do try as much as possible to refer them to the sexual trauma team if they so desire. We always go to the victim's wants and desires. That's where we head.
As for the conversation around feeling secure and safe coming forward, I think we can look not very far around us today in the world and see that this is evolving and changing. I think the stance that the chief of defence staff has taken is an admirable one. He has stuck to his guns. He called it an ”operation”, and he's made it that. I think we're started on an evolution of working our way out of this. It's going to take some time. When I had to deal with these cases at a higher level, I saw nothing but acceptance from the chain of command, the ability of the senior bureaucrats to move quickly to fix and solve these issues for the individual. It's not my job to solicit complaints, but we do--"
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/42-1/acva/meeting-64/evidence
There's the problem with tracking and then there's the problem, as I mentioned, of fear. It's a fear that if they go through the court martial process they will be exposed and their career limited, or a fear that there won't be any justice for them, because when they go through the court martial process only about a half of those perpetrators are convicted, or at least that's the information I have.
In terms of your experience, are you hearing from young men and women in regard to military sexual trauma? If not, what can we do to make them feel safer in regard to reporting it?"
Mr. Gary Walbourne: "I don't want to go back in history, but this office was set up coming out of Somalia in 1998, because of the sexual assault allegations and so on that happened around that point in time. The chief of defence staff has introduced the sexual trauma team. I think they are starting to really get their feet under them. We still deal with sexual harassment and sexual assault cases, people who feel more confidence in our shop than others, and we offer it as a service. We do try as much as possible to refer them to the sexual trauma team if they so desire. We always go to the victim's wants and desires. That's where we head.
As for the conversation around feeling secure and safe coming forward, I think we can look not very far around us today in the world and see that this is evolving and changing. I think the stance that the chief of defence staff has taken is an admirable one. He has stuck to his guns. He called it an ”operation”, and he's made it that. I think we're started on an evolution of working our way out of this. It's going to take some time. When I had to deal with these cases at a higher level, I saw nothing but acceptance from the chain of command, the ability of the senior bureaucrats to move quickly to fix and solve these issues for the individual. It's not my job to solicit complaints, but we do--"
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/42-1/acva/meeting-64/evidence
United States
MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2017
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "First, Mr. Reynolds talked about the fact that you have the ability to collect a great deal of data and apply that data. You talked about the fact that there are many female veterans. We're discussing the issue of military sexual trauma, and I have some concerns in regard to how women are identified, men as well, in terms of that kind of trauma, and the tracking and supports. I'm thinking of the clinical help that is given to them.
What's your experience in terms of that? Do women and men readily report? Is there a special service in regard to the tracking and support systems?"
Mr. Michael Missal: "We do get reports of those issues. We are considering doing a national audit on sexual trauma. We've also done a number of reports relating to women veterans and the kind of treatment they get at the health care facilities at VA. We have done a national audit on that as well. We are very conscious of issues for all veterans, male and female. As I said, we are limited in the number of things we can do, but we consider this an important area that we are going to be exploring further."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-56/evidence
What's your experience in terms of that? Do women and men readily report? Is there a special service in regard to the tracking and support systems?"
Mr. Michael Missal: "We do get reports of those issues. We are considering doing a national audit on sexual trauma. We've also done a number of reports relating to women veterans and the kind of treatment they get at the health care facilities at VA. We have done a national audit on that as well. We are very conscious of issues for all veterans, male and female. As I said, we are limited in the number of things we can do, but we consider this an important area that we are going to be exploring further."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-56/evidence
Australia
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "There has also been discussion in this committee on military sexual trauma, and we are hearing from both men and women as it pertains to their experiences in the armed forces.
I see you have support for individuals who have experienced sexual or physical abuse in the Australian Defence Force, and that you provide counselling and special services, case management, and group programs to about 20,000 current and former Australian Defence Force members and their families each year.
Can you describe the process for how those who have suffered sexual trauma come forward and how their evidence is treated? How do they get into these counselling sessions? I'll be very frank. Here, concern has been expressed that the counselling sessions that are offered are not particularly tailored toward those who come from a military background and that culture. Is that part of how you put together your programs? Could you simply describe the process and the program?"
Ms. Lisa Foreman: "We've just had a royal commission into abuse of children by institutions. Defence was one of those institutions. We have changed our rules for how members who have suffered abuse claim compensation. I'll leave it at that. That's what we've done. At one end, we've made it simpler for those members who have suffered abuse to come forward and claim compensation.
I'd be happy to talk about that some other time, but I'll pass to Stephanie to talk about the counselling aspect."
Col Stephanie Hodson: "Very briefly, I think the big points are that they can start counselling immediately. We don't require them to apply for compensation. Often we will get people through our telephone line, and then they are put into face-to-face counselling. We do a lot of effort. We consistently provide free training to a network of 1,400 counsellors. A lot of the counsellors in our network are actually ex-military mental health professionals, but importantly it is about keeping a very free and readily accessible service that is military aware. We have put a lot of work into making sure that our counselling service is military aware. Anything to do with sexual assault will be handled very carefully, and we work very carefully with the specialists in the area as well. Sometimes we need to refer.... "
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-57/evidence
I see you have support for individuals who have experienced sexual or physical abuse in the Australian Defence Force, and that you provide counselling and special services, case management, and group programs to about 20,000 current and former Australian Defence Force members and their families each year.
Can you describe the process for how those who have suffered sexual trauma come forward and how their evidence is treated? How do they get into these counselling sessions? I'll be very frank. Here, concern has been expressed that the counselling sessions that are offered are not particularly tailored toward those who come from a military background and that culture. Is that part of how you put together your programs? Could you simply describe the process and the program?"
Ms. Lisa Foreman: "We've just had a royal commission into abuse of children by institutions. Defence was one of those institutions. We have changed our rules for how members who have suffered abuse claim compensation. I'll leave it at that. That's what we've done. At one end, we've made it simpler for those members who have suffered abuse to come forward and claim compensation.
I'd be happy to talk about that some other time, but I'll pass to Stephanie to talk about the counselling aspect."
Col Stephanie Hodson: "Very briefly, I think the big points are that they can start counselling immediately. We don't require them to apply for compensation. Often we will get people through our telephone line, and then they are put into face-to-face counselling. We do a lot of effort. We consistently provide free training to a network of 1,400 counsellors. A lot of the counsellors in our network are actually ex-military mental health professionals, but importantly it is about keeping a very free and readily accessible service that is military aware. We have put a lot of work into making sure that our counselling service is military aware. Anything to do with sexual assault will be handled very carefully, and we work very carefully with the specialists in the area as well. Sometimes we need to refer.... "
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-57/evidence
New Zealand
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2017
Ms. Irene Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP): "I wonder if we could talk about military sexual trauma. That's something that came up during our review, discussion, and research into injuries and the mental stresses, the mental health issues that subsequently come from operational stress injuries. Do you offer military sexual trauma survivors access to case managers who would have experience in dealing with sexual assault, and a certain sensitivity, I guess, to a victim who has been assaulted?"
Mr. Steve Mullins (Director, Integrated Wellness, New Zealand Defence Force): "Yes, it's a good question. From a New Zealand Defence Force perspective, there has been a very strong emphasis on a campaign towards operational respect, which addresses sexual assault among other behaviours that would be deemed inappropriate. That campaign has included our recruitment of personnel with expertise in case-managing sexual assault. They are internal personnel who are being employed on a permanent, full-time basis. The attitude toward that is that eventually, as the potential number of cases diminishes, those practitioners would move toward education-based services to ensure that, from a cultural perspective, the New Zealand Defence Force is well on top of those aspects."
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "Thank you. I'm aware that you're interested in increasing the percentage of women in the armed forces, and I applaud that. I think that makes for a stronger and better force. I also have read that you have town halls or training programs. You were just mentioning them and the specialists who lead them. Could you elaborate on the restricted disclosure system? It's alluded to in the literature. Has it been successful? Have you made any changes to it? How do you see it working?"
Mr. Steve Mullins: "Obviously there are some sensitivities around this information, but since the respect campaign, we have found that we have opened up dialogue and the confidence of our staff, especially our female staff, who know they are able to come forward knowing that their information will be treated professionally and appropriately within the Privacy Act, and also knowing that the issue will be dealt with through the chain of command, but in a way that would be managed appropriately, so that retribution or any remedial action would be taken through a natural justice process."
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "Do you follow up? Is there any emphasis on treatment for mental health issues that could result from sexual trauma?"
Mr. Steve Mullins: "Yes, absolutely. Internally, we also have a number of support service medical-related practitioners. So they would be internal to our health directorate, and we also utilize the services of professionals within the New Zealand public sector. Those would be with other government agencies or other non-governmental agencies in order to assist with that treatment aspect."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-59/evidence
Mr. Steve Mullins (Director, Integrated Wellness, New Zealand Defence Force): "Yes, it's a good question. From a New Zealand Defence Force perspective, there has been a very strong emphasis on a campaign towards operational respect, which addresses sexual assault among other behaviours that would be deemed inappropriate. That campaign has included our recruitment of personnel with expertise in case-managing sexual assault. They are internal personnel who are being employed on a permanent, full-time basis. The attitude toward that is that eventually, as the potential number of cases diminishes, those practitioners would move toward education-based services to ensure that, from a cultural perspective, the New Zealand Defence Force is well on top of those aspects."
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "Thank you. I'm aware that you're interested in increasing the percentage of women in the armed forces, and I applaud that. I think that makes for a stronger and better force. I also have read that you have town halls or training programs. You were just mentioning them and the specialists who lead them. Could you elaborate on the restricted disclosure system? It's alluded to in the literature. Has it been successful? Have you made any changes to it? How do you see it working?"
Mr. Steve Mullins: "Obviously there are some sensitivities around this information, but since the respect campaign, we have found that we have opened up dialogue and the confidence of our staff, especially our female staff, who know they are able to come forward knowing that their information will be treated professionally and appropriately within the Privacy Act, and also knowing that the issue will be dealt with through the chain of command, but in a way that would be managed appropriately, so that retribution or any remedial action would be taken through a natural justice process."
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "Do you follow up? Is there any emphasis on treatment for mental health issues that could result from sexual trauma?"
Mr. Steve Mullins: "Yes, absolutely. Internally, we also have a number of support service medical-related practitioners. So they would be internal to our health directorate, and we also utilize the services of professionals within the New Zealand public sector. Those would be with other government agencies or other non-governmental agencies in order to assist with that treatment aspect."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-59/evidence
United Kingdom
MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017
Ms. Irene Mathyssen: "What supports do you have in place for veterans suffering with military sexual trauma? Is it considered an operational stress injury, or a “related to service” type of injury?"
Gp Capt Mark Heffron: "That is a difficult one. I haven't anything on that. We have that so very rarely. It's something we would have to look at further. We have a system whereby anyone in the armed forces can complain. We have a service complaints system but that can be used for anything, and I stress not only this.
We have a very well-funded service complaint system run by the three services. It's been pushed through our Parliament. It comes under legislation, and we have a service complaints ombudsman. Each individual who puts in a complaint has to state what the complaint is for, if that would involve any kind of mistreatment or bullying or harassment, whatever that might be, so this would all be included. They also have to declare what they seek as a result of the complaint. It is processed through the services and there is an appeal process within that, and within each service, and at the end the case may be referred to or may be overseen by the service complaints ombudsman who is independent of the armed forces and is appointed through Parliament and who can look to see that the armed forces are operating as they should."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-60/evidence
Gp Capt Mark Heffron: "That is a difficult one. I haven't anything on that. We have that so very rarely. It's something we would have to look at further. We have a system whereby anyone in the armed forces can complain. We have a service complaints system but that can be used for anything, and I stress not only this.
We have a very well-funded service complaint system run by the three services. It's been pushed through our Parliament. It comes under legislation, and we have a service complaints ombudsman. Each individual who puts in a complaint has to state what the complaint is for, if that would involve any kind of mistreatment or bullying or harassment, whatever that might be, so this would all be included. They also have to declare what they seek as a result of the complaint. It is processed through the services and there is an appeal process within that, and within each service, and at the end the case may be referred to or may be overseen by the service complaints ombudsman who is independent of the armed forces and is appointed through Parliament and who can look to see that the armed forces are operating as they should."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-60/evidence
France
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017
Mr. Bob Bratina: "One of the issues, of course, that many armies faced was sexual harassment, and that led, in cases that we've heard about in our committee, to stresses related to that among female veterans. Is there a program or well-defined policy with regard to that in the French military?"
Mr. Frédéric Charlet: "This is something that the Ministère des Armées also considered. A few years ago, it created the Thémis unit, the role of which is specifically to consider questions like that. Anyone can contact the unit's telephone service to report cases of harassment or other actions like that.
Again, these cases are not solely attributed to operations. It's regimental life. It is possible, in the course of operations, that the circumstances may make the risk a little higher. Regardless, we created this unit a few years ago to consider that issue."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-61/evidence
Mr. Frédéric Charlet: "This is something that the Ministère des Armées also considered. A few years ago, it created the Thémis unit, the role of which is specifically to consider questions like that. Anyone can contact the unit's telephone service to report cases of harassment or other actions like that.
Again, these cases are not solely attributed to operations. It's regimental life. It is possible, in the course of operations, that the circumstances may make the risk a little higher. Regardless, we created this unit a few years ago to consider that issue."
Source: http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ACVA/meeting-61/evidence
You may also be interested in what we had to say about the care for Military Sexual Trauma during the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs - Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Among Veterans