54 Congressional Representatives are requesting action from the new Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough concerning the continuance of sexual harassment of women veterans and employees at the VA. These elected officials sent a letter to the VA Secretary on April 7, 2021 requesting the him to provide an update on the VA efforts to implement Section 5303 of the Deborah Sampson Act. 
This Public Law (#116-315) requires the VA to establish a comprehensive anti-harassment and anti-sexual assault policy. The law was enacted on January 5, 2021, by former President Donald Trump on January 5, 2021. The correspondence urged the VA Secretary “to take swift action to implement Section 5303.”
In 2018, the VA’s own investigation found that one in four women veterans and VA employees reported experiencing sexual harassment or assault while at the VA. In 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported “inconsistent and incomplete” workplace sexual harassment policies at the VA.
While the GAO reported that there were both policies and reporting mechanisms in place for VA employees to report sexual harassment from other VA employees, there were “no comparable policies, centralized reporting mechanisms, or resources for VA beneficiaries who are sexually harassed or assaulted by VA employees or on a VA property.”
The Federal News Network reported that about 22% of Department of Veterans Affairs employees claimed they experienced sexual harassment at work over a two-year period and only 14% of federal employees across government said they experienced harassment during the same two-year period. The numbers are likely higher because the VA did not have a centralized system to collect and track harassment complaints, and managers were not required to report instances of sexual harassment to a central office.
In response to the GAO’s allegations, the VA stated that by December 2020, it will have developed a plan to ensure consistency of its’ sexual harassment policies. The VA would begin implementing this plan by the end of March 2021. The VA also stated that they would develop a system for managers to report sexual harassment allegations.
The VA continued that it would restructure the agency’s sexual harassment prevention training for all employees to make it more impactful. This type of training would be assigned to every employee based upon their role with implementation planned by the end of September 2021.
However, in December of 2020, numerous veterans’ groups, including the Disabled American Veterans, (DAV) had called for the former VA Secretary Robert Wilkie to resign for his mishandling a sexual assault claim by a veteran, who was visiting the VA Medical Center in Washington, DC. He refused to resign, but was later removed by President Biden.
On April 12, 2021, VA Secretary Denis McDonough, in his first message to veterans and department staff since his confirmation, addressed this issue. He said that his leadership team will put an emphasis on preventing discrimination and sexual harassment throughout the VA system.
“All VA patients, staff, their families, caregivers, survivors, visitors, and advocates must feel safe in a workplace free of harassment and discrimination,” VA Secretary McDonough emphasized in his initial message. “I will not accept discrimination, harassment, or assault at any level or at any facility within VA. We will provide a safe, inclusive environment for veterans and VA employees.”
Secretary McDonough continued, “The President has called upon every American to embrace our responsibility to support our veterans and their families. So, this Administration will work with other federal departments and agencies and with other state and local organizations, both public and private, who have the best interests of veterans and their families at heart.”
The National DAV has indicated that sexual harassment “continues to be a notable problem within the VA. “Despite considerable pressure over the past several years to eliminate sexual harassment at VA facilities as well as numerous campaigns to achieve that end, the VA still struggles with employing a comprehensive, leadership-driven and departmentwide strategy to truly address the issue. By the VA’s own account, 1 in 4 women veterans report having experienced some form of harassment or assault when trying to access care within its’ health facilities,” according to the DAV’s Critical Policy Goals for 2021.
The National DAV recommended that: “The VA develop a comprehensive plan to change the VA culture and create a safe, harassment-free environment that is welcoming to all veterans.”
My Opinion: After the GAO report was released in 2018, the VA made several commitments concerning their actions ending sexual harassment with including a series of deadlines for implementation. By the end of December 2020, the VA had pledged it would have developed a plan to ensure consistency of its’ sexual harassment policies.
In April of 2021, the 54 Congressional leaders were correct to contact VA Secretary Denis McDonough about the continuance of sexual harassment of women veterans and employees at the VA. Sexual harassment of women veterans has been a major problem at the VA, as documented by the recent research and studies.
In order to “change the VA culture” concerning this topic takes leadership at the very top to set the standard. The Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) requests for the removal of the previous VA Secretary Wilkie demonstrates that the leadership was seriously lacking in terms of developing a comprehensive plan to change VA culture on sexual harassment.
In his April 12, 2021 message to veterans and the VA staff, Secretary McDonough said his leadership team will put an emphasis on preventing discrimination and sexual harassment throughout the VA system.
These Congressional leaders and Veteran Service Organizations must hold Secretary McDonough to his word that his leadership team will be active in implementing Section 5303 of the Deborah Sampson Act and developing a comprehensive plan to change the VA culture on sexual harassment.
John Plahovinsak has served for 32 years in the U.S. Army. In his last military assignment, he served as an Inspector General and conducted investigations concerning allegations, similar to sexual harassment.