Experiences of LGBT Purge Survivors with Veterans Affairs Canada Programs and Services
Between the 1950s and mid-1990s, LGBT members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the federal public service were systematically discriminated against, harassed, and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice. In what came to be known as the “LGBT Purge,” people were followed, interrogated, abused, and traumatized. The LGBT Purge was implemented at the highest levels of the Government of Canada and was carried out with callous disregard for the dignity, privacy, and humanity of its victims (LGBT Purge Fund website, 2020).
VAC invites applications for research that explores the intersectionality of LGBT Purge survivors’ experiences and characteristics, conduct a qualitative research study of LGBT Purge survivors’ experiences when seeking support from and accessing VAC programs and services, and make recommendations for VAC programs and services to account for the identified LGBT Purge Survivor characteristics’ specific considerations when applying for VAC programs and services.
