The Sacramento VA Medical Center is retraumatizing sexual assault survivors | Opinion

As a retired veteran of the U.S. Army, I served as a medic for seven-and-a-half years. I found profound fulfillment in my service until it was marred by sexual assault and intimate partner violence that lasted five excruciating years. It was a betrayal that cut me to the core, leaving me on a healing journey.

I have found myself navigating the corridors of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Washington, D.C., Batavia, New York, Atlanta, Georgia and now Sacramento. Here, the Sacramento VA Medical Center at the former Mather Air Force Base is simply not a friendly place to heal.

Entering the clinic requires women veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to walk through the main entrance of a bustling facility where they are often subjected to harassment. These are women trying to recover from sexual trauma, assault or harassment experienced during military service.

Opinion

The simple act of stepping through the hospital doors feels like traversing a battlefield.

As I walk through the medical center, I am subjected to leering gazes, catcalls and inappropriate advances by male veterans. This unwelcome attention serves as a haunting reminder of the trauma I endured and the struggle I faced in reclaiming my sense of safety and dignity.

The women’s clinic is wrongly located inside the central portion of the hospital’s main building. Before entering the women’s clinic, female veterans must pass the homeless veterans’ clinic, the pharmacy and two open waiting areas, where other veterans sit and wait for appointments or medication.

Just walking to my appointments means risking harassment or unwanted and intrusive attention. I am not alone in feeling overwhelmed: I have heard from many other women who also experience inappropriate or unwanted attention from male veterans while at the facility.

I reported my concerns to two Mather VA staff members. Both of them showed empathy toward my situation and provided mental health services to help me feel more comfortable going to the women’s clinic. Additionally, we sent a memo to David Stockwell, director of health care for VA Northern California, regarding the issue and provided a possible solution. We are still waiting to hear back from him.

Before each appointment, I sit in my car and grapple with a torrent of emotions. I practice deep breathing exercises and recite affirmations in a desperate attempt to quell a rising tide of panic. To shield myself from prying eyes and intrusive remarks, I employ a variety of tactics to get others to ignore me: I don sunglasses and headphones, blare music and wear over-sized clothes.

Even when I avoid making eye contact, some men still persist in invading my personal space, striking up conversations and making unwelcome advances. This behavior is particularly distressing when I seek gynecological care at the women’s clinic.

It’s time for the Mather VA Hospital to confront the systemic issues that perpetuate this culture of abuse and provide survivors like me with the dignity, safety and respect we so rightfully deserve.

Mather should look to the Boise VA Medical Center, which provides primary and specialty health care services to about 42,000 veterans every year in Idaho and eastern Oregon. The entrance to the facility’s women’s clinic is separate from the main entrance of the hospital, allowing female veterans to directly enter the clinic without walking through the rest of the campus.

“Since moving to Idaho and attending the women’s clinic here, I have felt my anxiety decrease,” one female veteran in Boise told me. “I love the women’s clinic location here.”

Relocating the women’s clinic at the Sacramento VA Medical Center is an important first step to address the pervasive, systemic issue within the military and veteran community of women feeling unsafe. It is not too much to ask for a positive, friendly, healing environment.

Shanique Davidson is a student at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Tia Preston, who is also a student at USC’s Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, contributed significantly to this piece.