Andrea Goldstein said she was sexually assaulted at the Washington D.C. VA Medical Center four months ago. This week, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs publicly called her claims “unsubstantiated,” sparking a backlash from veterans who say officials aren’t doing enough to make the D.C. VA safe for women veterans.

Goldstein, a Navy veteran, is a senior staff member on the Women Veterans Task Force on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. She helped craft legislation to prevent sexual harassment and assault, and make the VA a more inclusive place for women veterans.

While in a public atrium in September 2019, Goldstein alleged that a man slammed his body against hers and made suggestive comments. “‘You look like you could use a good time,’” the man said, as Goldstein told the New York Times. “He pressed his entire body against mine,” she added.

This week, following the completion of an independent probe’s investigation, V.A. Secretary Robert Wilkie released a letter casting doubt on the credibility of Goldstein’s claims. “Unsubstantiated claims raised by you and your staff could deter our veterans from seeking the care they need and deserve,” the letter to House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Takano read.

Local veterans were angry with the result of the investigation and the V.A. Secretary’s response.

“Disgusted. Anyone who has been to this trash VA knows the score,” tweeted Robin Felt, an Army veteran who lives in Southeast D.C. and seeks medical care at the D.C. VA. “Robert Wilkie is more concerned with telling women they *haven’t* experienced harassment at this VA than fixing the VA’s obvious problems.”

Felt began seeking care at the D.C. facility in June of 2018. “Every single visit has been unpleasant,” she tells DCist. Felt says she’s experienced catcalls and staring at the medical center when she’s walked through the atrium. “This place is so hostile for women. When you are there, you understand that you have no worth,” she says.

Felt isn’t alone in her complaints. In October, a woman who identified herself as Laurel called into The Kojo Nnamdi Show to say that she had experienced catcalling and harassment at the D.C. VA—she was in fact sitting in the parking lot during the call, working up the will to go inside for an appointment. “I wish that the other male veterans could understand how uncomfortable I feel going for my appointments,” she said.

Takano issued a statement condemning the secretary’s letter and the ripple effect it could cause for victims of sexual assault. “Women veterans are already hesitant to come forward and report sexual harassment and sexual assault because they fear being dismissed and retaliated against,” he said.

The lack of evidence necessary to bring charges was related to an ongoing safety issue that’s also been cited by the OIG at other facilities: The video cameras that could have captured the incident were not working at the time of the alleged assault.

A separate Inspector General report in March of 2018 downgraded the D.C. V.A to a one-star rating, putting it in the bottom 10 percent of VA hospitals. Among the factors cited in the report were inadequate security and maintenance of physical facilities, and breakdowns in oversight and accountability.

VA press secretary Christina Mandreucci did not respond to questions about the video surveillance or women’s experience at the facility. “[Goldstein’s] case is closed with no charges,” she said. The D.C. VA directed comments to the national agency.

The dustup over Wilkie’s statement is the latest in an ongoing discussion of women’s safety at VA facilities. In April, the agency released a study detailing how stranger harassment at VA hospitals affects womens’ healthcare.

“In the parking lot, the catcalling starts right away,” one veteran is quoted as saying in the report. “The women’s clinic is a long way, and I am bombarded by sexual attention. It is very threatening.”

The D.C. VA Medical Center, located near the McMillan Reservoir, provides medical care to thousands of veterans in the metro area. Goldstein told The Kojo Nnamdi Show in October about her regular experiences there.

“If you go through the rest of the facility away from the women’s clinic there are a lot of choke points–it sometimes feels like you’re running the gauntlet being stared at,” she said. The atrium is commonly referred to as “catcall alley.”

Republican Congressman Phil Roe, the ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, points out that the VA’s own data shows that a quarter of women veterans who seek care are harassed by men in the facilities, but believes the “unsubstantiated” comment was a miscommunication between the VA and the inspector general regarding the outcome of the investigation.

“Secretary Wilkie is a friend and his steadfast commitment to the men and women who have served is something I have witnessed time and again,” he says. “I trust he will do the right thing in correcting the record here and continue his important work to ensure that VA facilities are safe for all of our nation’s veterans.”

This story has been updated with comment from the VA press secretary.