Congress is demanding the Veterans Health Administration be held accountable after reports of high rates of sexual harassment among patients and staff.
A General Accounting Office audit released this week says nearly one out of four VA employees say they’ve been subjected to unwanted sexual comments or harassment. A VA study found a similar pattern among women patients at the Veterans Health Administration.
Pamela Powers, acting deputy secretary of the VA, told the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Women Veterans Task Force that the VA is moving to implement the recommendations in the GAO audit.
“The problem at hand is sexual assault and sexual harassment and we want to make sure this organization has a zero tolerance policy. We have a very targeted effort,” she said.
Paula J. Kemp, a Navy veteran, founded Veteran Sisters to help women navigate the VA after her experiences at the VA in San Diego County.
“It’s taken years and years and years for anyone to listen,” she said. “And it gets brushed off onto the female, 'Well what did you do. What were you wearing? What did you say?' It’s always put on to her and that’s not the way it should be. She should be taken seriously.”
Kemp tried to report her doctor in Oceanside, who had been contracted by the VA. Initially, the VA didn’t follow through, until four other patients came forward, she said.
In 2019, Dr. Edgar Manzanera pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation and was forced to surrender his medical licence.
“We’re the fastest growing population in the military, too,” she said. “So they’ve got to get ready and create a program that is more sensitive to the female veteran unique issues.”
Aside from taking sexual assault more serious, Kemp said the VA needs more women providers and programs that allow female vets to receive treatment away from their male counterparts.
