MR. MST Reacts to Confirmation of New Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Protect Our Defenders Advocacy Committee Member Brian Lewis writes for the Good Men Project:
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing last week to discuss the nomination of Robert McDonald as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Mr. McDonald did a credible job in front of the committee in making commitments to the senators and explaining his vision for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Senate confirmed Secretary McDonald this week as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs. However, there’s one area in which both Mr. McDonald and the Committee fell down on the job.
The Committee failed to ask any questions about, and Mr. McDonald failed to make any statement about, the care crisis facing male military sexual trauma survivors in the Veterans Health Administration. In fact, members of the Committee hinted that military sexual trauma is viewed by the Committee as solely a “women’s issue.” It is this problem that continues to make men invisible as victims of sexual crimes. Before we get into the Committee’s distressing attitude toward male survivors, a little background on the Department of Veterans Affairs is helpful.
