The country's veterans ombudsman says it is unacceptable that veterans who have experience sexual trauma are being turned away from peer support counselling. The Department of Veterans Affairs requires those survivors to seek help at the Department of National Defence's Sexual Misconduct Response Centre which does not offer that kind of support.
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Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
The federal government is working on a new counselling program for victims of military sexual misconduct – an effort under way after advocates and experts called on Ottawa to offer what is known as peer support.
During recent testimony before the House of Commons defence committee, Denise Preston, executive director of the Department of National Defence’s Sexual Misconduct Response Centre, said peer support, a type of counselling where individuals draw on the experience of others, is not currently offered to sexual trauma survivors in the military. But DND is working on a number of services, she said, such as ensuring military members can access independent legal advice and pe