Always inappropriate sexual behavior in the military

QMI agency

Tuesday, August 8, 2017 19:17

UPDATE
Tuesday, August 8, 2017 19:17

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OTTAWA – hundreds of members have contacted the response Center on sexual misconduct (IIS) canadian armed Forces (CAF) to report sexual behaviour to be unacceptable, or get information last year, according to a report released Tuesday.

On the 481-to-people contacts initiated by members of the military assets during the financial year 2016-2017, and 86 were designed to obtain a support after a sexual assault, 74 aimed to report sexual behaviors “harmful” and another 65 had to do with cases of sexual harassment.

Contacts with other people, such as former military personnel and of civilian personnel of national Defence, indicate the same trend. 144 meetings, 32 had the purpose to get help after a sexual assault.

On the military (317) that were identified by meeting with the staff of the IIS, 54 % were men and 45 % women. However, the latter accounted for 78 per cent of people “directly affected by sexual behaviors harmful and inappropriate”, one can read in the report.

Also, a little more than one-third (37 %) of the contacts initiated with the IIS were conducted by members of the chain of command, which “sought information on the best ways to support their members.”

In addition to having provided support to the military, the IIS has also made outreach to approximately 3500 soldiers in the course of the year.

Established in September 2015, the IIS is an integral part of the operation’s Honour, which aims to combat the scourge of sexual assaults in the military.

In a survey conducted in 2016 by Statistics Canada with 43 000 military personnel, 960 were said to have been the victim of inappropriate sexual behavior in the last year.

Various class actions relating to the alleged failure of the army to control its members and to protect the soldiers victims of sexual misconduct have also been filed against the army in 2016, including one calling for $ 1 billion in compensation.