Scathing report on Military sexual culture released

[projekktor id=’18756′]

A scathing report was released Thursday that says Canadian Forces soldiers face a hostile environment not just on the battlefield, but among their
own ranks.

A long-awaited review into sexual misconduct in the military points to a highly sexualized culture, and a “culture of misogyny” in the CAF.

It says soldiers are exposed to sexual innuendo, degrading and offensive language and discriminatory comments about women from the moment they join the military.

CHCH’s Kate Carnegie spoke Thursday with a Diane Rose. She served in the Canadian Air Force and was sexually assaulted when she was 18 years old.

“In 1981 I was gang raped while in a change room in the hanger on the air force base and it was ordered by a Sergeant of mine.”

She says she didn’t know where to go or who to talk to. When she did report the assault to military police, it was shut down and nothing happened.

The report highlights the perception that senior officers tolerate a culture of silence, which in turn deters victims from reporting sexual misconduct.

A former combat officer turned lawyer Phillip Millar says the report is missing a major component.

“It’s not dealing with the people in the canadian forces today who are guilty of sexual assault and have never been brought to justice.”

The military launched the review last year after media reports into what appeared to be a major discrepancy in official records of sexual harassment and assault cases and what was actually happening inside the forces.

The report contains 10 recommendations, including that the military acknowledge that inappropriate sexual conduct is a problem and put a strategy in place to change their culture.

The military said further study is needed to understand the scope of the problem and what best practices are in order to resolve it.

Rose was interviewed about her rape for 5 hours by the National Investigative Services about 3 years ago. She says every time she has followed up she is told they are still investigating.