Thank you so much, Chair.
I'd like to go back to the discussion around the unit for military sexual trauma where you indicated that you accept applicants' statements as their evidence because of the dynamics often of that circumstance.
We had retired major Joanne Seviour here as a witness. I want to read some of her testimony to you. Please listen closely, and explain to me why there's this discrepancy. She said, “I've been a client of Veterans Affairs for 11 years after an Afghanistan injury....” She went on to talk about how her physical help from VAC took time, but she's well serviced now. She went on to say:
With regard to the class action, I really want to say something here that's important and that was my experience, and I fear it is the experience of many more women. When the class action was established, the Veterans Affairs policy regarding sexual trauma and the impacts on women's health and women's lives as a result of multiple traumas—not just single-incident injury—was not identified in the veterans care policy. I've been writing the ombudsman on this issue.
When I was diagnosed—
—that's basically with military sexual trauma—
—I spent six months being diagnosed by a clinical psychologist with female sexual interest disorder, which is a new DSM diagnosis, and with persistent depressive—Veterans Affairs ignored one of them. I spoke to four different people, who said, “Well, we didn't deny it. We just ignored it.” You know, that's kind of insulting to me as a Canadian and as a client—you just ignored it. I asked them to put that in writing, but they wouldn't. The desk officer laughed, and I said everything in my dealings with Veterans Affairs I have to put in writing, but you're not affording me that same opportunity.
[A]s I suspected—I've been in the government and in the military a long time—their policies weren't updated at the time the government announced the class action. I was right. They sent me new policies, and in the new policies, they wouldn't accept the clinical psychologist's report. He's a Ph.D. with over 25 years' experience.
They wanted me to go to my GP. She was insulted.
It was insulting in that this person has all of that experience, and they're asking for a GP to fill out the paperwork.
There's a lot of concern here about the fact she still has not received treatment, yet she has seen a psychologist with 25 years' experience, and she has this diagnosis that's in the DSM. How can it be that she is not being recognized as having that condition and as needing those treatments?
I'm sorry. I didn't leave you a lot of time.
