I would say the information needs to be online, because people need to advocate for themselves now. Then we can actually check what's going on. We call, and the information differs, depending on whoever is answering the phone. We get people who have been told they can't have VAC rehab, and they have to wait, but they were at school, so by the time they get it, they don't know that they will not reimbursed for their school.
Most of the MST people are young. The average is between 17 and 19 years old. This is when they get assaulted. When they leave, they are going back to school, and this is different process, so the information has to be there.
There are a lot of females in the reserves. We're falling through the cracks when the information comes, so we always end up in this waiting game where we get put on hold for a specialist who never calls back. Those are the kinds of things we experience. I think if it's online, we'll know what to expect and we'll be able to access care.
The forms, also, are only combat-related. I was asked to do a gynecological test 10 years afterward. I had to go. That's the process, even though I had two kids after that. What can you find? It was intrusive for no reason. It took me eight months to fight this, just to be allowed to pursue it. I was allowed to pursue this after they initially told me I couldn't. I couldn't go to the BPA because my claim wasn't denied, so here was no recourse for me. The only recourse I had was to gather 19 other people like me, and then we got reconsidered, but it took over eight months just to be allowed to proceed. That kind of stuff needs to change.