CHALLENGES WITHIN THE CANADIAN MILITARY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF FEMALE VETERAN LIVED EXPERIENCES

CHALLENGES WITHIN THE CANADIAN MILITARY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF FEMALE VETERAN LIVED EXPERIENCES

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have continuously struggled to address female inclusion and concerns surrounding inappropriate behaviour, sexual violence, and discrimination within its ranks. In recent years there have been different missions directed at understanding and responding to issues of sexual misconduct and toxic work culture within the CAF. Unfortunately, these programs have not adequately captured or mitigated these issues, and the current academic literature lacks lived experiences that could inform such policies and mitigations. As a corrective, this study sought to provide an account of lived experiences of these issues. This phenomenological case study utilized snowball sampling to recruit 55 female CAF veterans for one-on-one in-depth semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis followed three research questions that surrounded: 1) Leadership, 2) Segregation and Demeaning Treatment Towards Integration, and 3) Violence and Inappropriate Behaviour. This study should be of interest to Canadian and other national forces looking to enhance their understanding of the issues faced by female veterans.