Greg Lick, Veteran and DND/CAF Ombuds
Photo Credit: Canadian Military Family Magazine
Esprit de Corps Magazine August 2021 // Volume 28 Issue 7
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 29
By Military Woman
Question:
What does it mean when people from the military sexual trauma community say, “Nothing About Us Without Us”?
Answer:
The motto “Nothing About Us Without Us” is used to remind decision-makers of their responsibility to learn from and be accountable to those most impacted by their decisions.
First used in the 1980s by activists for disability rights, “Nothing About Us Without Us” is now a global movement that has expanded into many other advocacy areas including patient, women, and veteran rights.
Over the last decade, patient feedback through representation on civilian hospital boards, committees and research ethic boards has become routine. To best serve military patients throughout their lifespan, the military medical system needs to be similarly anchored and informed by patient feedback. To achieve this goal, the capturing of lessons learned from veterans is essential. Hopefully one day soon Canada will have an equivalent feedback mechanism to the US’s “Veterans Experience Office.”
Nothing About Us Without Us.
Furthermore, DND/CAF and VAC now widely acknowledge a need for more diverse voices at all decision-making levels. The follow-on challenge then being how to ensure its the “right” voices that are newly invited to the table. Every one of us can help to identify missing representation voices and advocate for their inclusion, even if it means us personally stepping down to make room for those more directly impacted to be heard.
Nothing About Us Without Us.
Many defence related decisions are based on defence policies that come from defence research findings. To all the defence researchers, please consider co-creating your future research alongside those with lived experience in the topic of your study. The most value-added and relevant research results are likely to occur when your research question is co-developed and your research project co-designed with those having lived experience.
Nothing About Us Without Us
Public perceptions about the military are known to be largely dependent on the media’s coverage. To the talking heads who have never themselves served in uniform, please don’t assume you can speak for military women just because we share the same biological sex. Please find and amplify the voices around you that do have direct lived experience and allow us to speak for ourselves.
Nothing About Us Without Us.
To the political decision-makers who ask military women to speak about their sexual misconduct experiences despite knowing the significant emotional toll it takes on us to do so – please don’t exploit us for your personal or partisan gains.
Nothing About Us Without Us.
To the DND/CAF Ombuds who has volunteered his office for an expanded investigative oversight role, our lived experience suggests there to be cause for concern. The Ombuds Office was originally created in 1989 specifically to address the growing number of military sexual harassment and assault cases; and yet, a simple review of thirty-plus years of subsequent Ombuds systemic investigations, reports, statistics, strategic plans, priorities, and interactions with Justice Deschamps demonstrates little proof of commitment to, or interest in, his office’s original raison d’être.
Furthermore, common sense along with the lessons already learned from the RCMP’s newly formed Independent Centre for Sexual Harassment Resolution suggest that any truly “independent” office would not be run or staffed with members from the same institution to be investigated.
Nothing About Us Without Us.
Lastly, a word to Justice Arbour. Whatever recommendations you make to the military in the days ahead, a core issue is how to fix broken trust. Whether from military sexual trauma, moral injury, institutional betrayal, sanctuary trauma or operational stress injury – trust has been broken by many against many.
To regain the trust of serving members, veterans, and the Canadian public, CAF/DND and VAC need to be, and be seen, as trustworthy institutions. Those that have been harmed the deepest and most directly must be allowed to be listened to and heard. Their healing is a necessarily prerequisite to healing the institution.
For all these reasons and more, this is why you may hear a military sexual trauma community member say, “Nothing About Us Without Us!”
Update:
2024. DND/CAF ombuds, Greg Lick, completed his contract on June 30th, a few months after a feisty last parliamentary committee testimony. Robyn Hynes, has been offered a one year contract as the interim ombuds while government ramps up the Government in Council (GIC) job application process.
