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Sexual assault in the Canadian Forces

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Sexual assault in the Canadian Armed Forces has been a pervasive issue affecting women, youth, and men in the Canadian Forces and Canadian Cadet Organizations. Canadian Forces sexual assault cases have been extensively reported in national Canadian news media. The scope and depth of the sexual assault problem first came to light in 1998, when Maclean's magazine broke the story.[1] Individual cases continued to be reported. The issue became a national focus again when MacLean's magazine published another exposé exploring the extent of rape culture in Canada's military.[2]

Context

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Main article: Sexual harassment in the military

Sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault, is a pervasive problem in militaries worldwide. It affects women disproportionately,[3][4][5][6][7][8] particularly younger women and girls.[4][9][10][11][12][13] Other groups at high risk include partners of personnel, child cadets, and military detainees.

While prevalence varies by country, military branch, and other factors, official statistics from Canada, the UK, and the US indicate that between a quarter and a third of military women in these countries are sexually harassed at work at least once each year.[14][15][16] Military training settings are characterised by a particularly high level of sexual harassment and assault relative to both the civilian population and other military settings.[16][17][18][19][20] Research further shows an increase in perpetration during and after deployment on military operations.[8][21][22]

Prevalence

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Canadian armed forces

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Through Canada's Access to Information Act, it was revealed that Canadian Military Police have received between 134 and 201 sexual assault complaints every year since the year 2000, averaging to 178 per year.[23] Given that the Canadian Armed Forces has 119,000 personnel (military and civilian), this represents a reported rate of 1.5 incidents per 1000.[24] In 2014, the rate of self-reported sexual assault in the whole of Canada was 22 incidents per 1000.[25] A 2012 survey showed that women, minorities, and First Nations suffered disproportionate levels of sexual and personal harassment in the Canadian Forces.[26]

The Canadian Forces claims that it takes sexual assault and abuse seriously.[27]

It has been further reported that one-in-thirteen women in the Canadian Forces has been sexually assaulted in connection with their military employment.[28]

High-profile sexual assaults by Canadian Forces offenders, like the case of Colonel Russell Williams have brought further attention to the issue in Canada.

In some cases, members charged with sexual assault have been retained on active service by the Canadian Forces, and placed on administrative duties.[29] This issue was brought about in May 1998 by a dozen women in Maclean's magazine.

Canadian cadet organizations

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There have been numerous documented instances where cadets in the care of the Canadian Cadet Organizations have been sexually abused or assaulted.[30][31][32][33][34] According to MacLean's magazine, one-in-ten reported sexual assaults in the military is against a member of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets.[2] Some of these incidents have come to light years after the abuse occurred.[35][36] Cadets Canada has a program called Positive Social Relations for Youth intended to stop future offences.

According to Vice Magazine, the Royal Canadian Army Cadets is "plagued with sexual abuse allegations".[37]

2014 External sexual assault review and later

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In 2014, the Government of Canada announced an external review of the sexual assault crisis within Canada's military.[38] The Government named former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Marie Deschamps to conduct the review.[38] The review has received international coverage.[39]

In 2015, the military launched Operation Honour to combat sexual assault and misconduct in its ranks.[40] The military launched reviews in response to an extensive 2017 Globe and Mail investigation on problems with Canadian sexual assault cases deemed unfounded. In September 2018, after a review of 179 cases closed as unfounded, 23 cases were re-opened. Another 43 were re-classified to better reflect the actual findings of the investigations.[40]

Notable cases

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Russell Williams, a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, progressed from breaking into homes, sexual assault with no penetration, to rape and murder. He was charged with breaking and entering, forcible confinement, and the sexual assault of two women in connection with two separate home invasions near Tweed, Ontario in September 2009. Williams was also charged in the death of Corporal Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old military traffic technician based at CFB Trenton, who had been found dead inside her home in late November 2009. He was sentenced on 22 October 2010 to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment, with no consideration of parole for 25 years. He is housed in a maximum-security prison in Port-Cartier, Quebec.[41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Speaking out on sexual assault in the military - Macleans.ca".
  2. ^ a b "Our military's disgrace". May 16, 2014.
  3. ^ British army (2015). "Sexual harassment report 2015" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Deschamps, Marie (2015). "External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces" (PDF). forces.gc.ca. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  5. ^ Leila, Miñano; Pascual, Julia (2014). La guerre invisible: révélations sur les violences sexuelles dans l'armée française (in French). Paris: Les Arènes. ISBN 978-2352043027. OCLC 871236655.
  6. ^ US, Department of Defense (2017). "Department of Defense Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military: Fiscal Year 2016" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  7. ^ House of Commons Defence Committee (July 12, 2021). "Protecting those who protect us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life (the Atherton Review)". Parliament.uk. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Watkins, Kimberley; Bennett, Rachel; Richer, Isabelle; Zamorski, Mark. "Sexual Assault in the Canadian Armed Forces: Prevalence, Circumstances, Correlates, and Mental Health Associations" (PDF). Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  9. ^ American Public Health Association (October 30, 2013). "Cessation of Military Recruiting in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools". www.apha.org. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  10. ^ Rutherford, Sarah; Schneider, Robin; Walmsley, Alexis (2006). "Quantitative & qualitative research into sexual harassment in the armed forces" (PDF). Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ Lichfield, John (April 20, 2014). "France battles sexual abuse in the military". Independent. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Cooper, Charlotte (July 2022). "British army: Welfare concerns at the Army Foundation College, Harrogate" (PDF). Child Rights International Network. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Whyte, Lara. "Tenfold rise in rapes and sexual assaults on girls in military". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  14. ^ British army (2021). "Sexual harassment 2021 report" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  15. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (May 22, 2019). "Sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces Regular Force, 2018". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Acosta, Joie D.; Chinman, Matthew; Shearer, Amy L. (July 19, 2021). "Countering Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: Lessons from RAND Research": 4. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. ^ Defence, National (June 10, 2022). "Part I – Sexual Misconduct". www.canada.ca. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Ministry of Defence (April 14, 2022). "Armed Forces: Offences against Children". parliament.uk. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Ministry of Defence (May 16, 2022). "Armed Forces: Offences against Children". parliament.uk. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  20. ^ "Air Force relieves commander over sex scandal". The Seattle Times. August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  21. ^ MacManus, Deirdre; Short, Roxanna; Lane, Rebecca; Jones, Margaret; Hull, Lisa; Howard, Louise M.; Fear, Nicola T. (September 1, 2022). "Intimate partner violence and abuse experience and perpetration in UK military personnel compared to a general population cohort: A cross-sectional study". The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. 20: 100448. doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100448. ISSN 2666-7762. PMC 9256655. PMID 35813966.
  22. ^ Department of Defense Task Force on Sexual Violence. (2004). "Sexual Harassment Survey of Reserve Component Members" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 22, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  23. ^ "Our military's disgrace".
  24. ^ "Mandate of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces". February 19, 2013.
  25. ^ "Self-reported sexual assault in Canada, 2014". July 11, 2017.
  26. ^ "SaltWire | Halifax".
  27. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  28. ^ One in 13 women sexually assaulted in Canadian Milatry Statscan survey saysmetronews.ca Archived May 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ "Canadian Forces reserves officer charged with sex assault | Ottawa Citizen". Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  30. ^ "Daniel Moriarity Court Martial: B.C. Captain Guilty Of Sex Offences Involving Teen Cadets". Archived from the original on October 25, 2012.
  31. ^ R. v. T.K., 2012 CanLII 15708 (NL SC)
  32. ^ R. v. M.(J.L.), 2003 CanLII 48100 (NL PC)
  33. ^ Mahaney D. (Lieutenant), R. v., 2010 CM 2003 (CanLII)
  34. ^ Paradis M.J.M. (Lieutenant), R. v., 2010 CM 3025 (CanLII)
  35. ^ Fong, Petti (January 4, 2007). "Sea cadets get long-awaited abuse redress". The Globe and Mail.
  36. ^ Hitchen, Ian (August 16, 2013). "Aug 2013: Ex-air cadet volunteer sentenced to six years for sex assaults on boys". Winnipeg Free Press.
  37. ^ "Documents Show the Canadian Army Cadets Program is Plagued with Sexual Abuse Allegations". November 26, 2014.
  38. ^ a b "External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces". April 30, 2015.
  39. ^ "Canada military orders sexual misconduct review". BBC News. April 25, 2014.
  40. ^ a b Harris, Kathleen (September 20, 2018). "Military to reopen 23 'unfounded' sexual assault cases". CBC News. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  41. ^ "The secret life of Col. Russell Williams exposed". thestar.com. October 18, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
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