Ottawa:
A former top judge has accused the Canadian military of being "hostile" to women and gays, in a scathing report released Thursday that calls for broad changes in the ranks.
"There is an underlying sexualized culture in the CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) that is hostile to women and LGTBQ members, and conducive to more serious incidents of sexual harassment and assault," former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps wrote in the 102-page report, which was acknowledged by top brass.
The fix, she said, requires "broad-scale cultural reform" within the Canadian military, which is "disrespectful and demeaning to women."
And it must start with military leaders admitting the existance of the problem revealed in media reports last year, which prompted Deschamps' investigation.
"Leaders must acknowledge that sexual misconduct is a real and serious problem for the organization," Deschamps said.
Canada's Chief of the Defense Staff, General Tom Lawson, told a press conference he accepts Deschamps's recommendations -- two outright and eight in principle.
He also ordered the military's highest ranking woman, Major-General Christine Whitecross, to head a team to study how other nations including Australia, France and the United States have addressed similar issues, and to implement any policy changes and new training.
"It's a complex problem, and quick band-aid fixes are unlikely to solve the many dimensions," Whitecross commented.
'No one speaks up'
Deschamps was asked to investigate sexual misconduct in the military after April 2014 cover stories by MacLean's magazine and its French-language sister publication L'Actualite, citing military records, found that one in 10 female soldiers had reported being sexually assaulted.
The two magazines estimated the figure was actually far higher when adding in unreported cases.
Deschamps agreed. She said her investigation found "a culture where no one speaks up and which functions to deter victims from reporting sexual misconduct."
She pointed to "fear of negative repercussions for career progression, including being removed from the unit" as the leading reason victims did not step forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against fellow soldiers.
In her report, Deschamps also sharply criticized the complaints process, saying many victims who reported an offense described their experience as "atrocious."
Sanctions, she said, are widely perceived as "meaningless, a slap on the wrist, and ineffective as a deterrent."
As members move up the ranks they "appear to become inured to this sexualized culture," she added.
In total, the military received an average of one sexual assault complaint every other day -- or 178 annually from 2002 to 2012, the two magazines reported.
According to Deschamps, the military must "address not only more serious incidents of sexual harassment and assault, but also low-level sexual harassment, such as the use of sexualized and demeaning language, which contributes to an environment that is hostile to women and LGTBQ members."
The report cites the "frequent use of swear words and highly degrading expressions that reference women's bodies, sexual jokes, innuendos, discriminatory comments with respect to the abilities of women, and unwelcome sexual touching."
"There is an underlying sexualized culture in the CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) that is hostile to women and LGTBQ members, and conducive to more serious incidents of sexual harassment and assault," former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps wrote in the 102-page report, which was acknowledged by top brass.
The fix, she said, requires "broad-scale cultural reform" within the Canadian military, which is "disrespectful and demeaning to women."
And it must start with military leaders admitting the existance of the problem revealed in media reports last year, which prompted Deschamps' investigation.
"Leaders must acknowledge that sexual misconduct is a real and serious problem for the organization," Deschamps said.
Canada's Chief of the Defense Staff, General Tom Lawson, told a press conference he accepts Deschamps's recommendations -- two outright and eight in principle.
He also ordered the military's highest ranking woman, Major-General Christine Whitecross, to head a team to study how other nations including Australia, France and the United States have addressed similar issues, and to implement any policy changes and new training.
"It's a complex problem, and quick band-aid fixes are unlikely to solve the many dimensions," Whitecross commented.
'No one speaks up'
Deschamps was asked to investigate sexual misconduct in the military after April 2014 cover stories by MacLean's magazine and its French-language sister publication L'Actualite, citing military records, found that one in 10 female soldiers had reported being sexually assaulted.
The two magazines estimated the figure was actually far higher when adding in unreported cases.
Deschamps agreed. She said her investigation found "a culture where no one speaks up and which functions to deter victims from reporting sexual misconduct."
She pointed to "fear of negative repercussions for career progression, including being removed from the unit" as the leading reason victims did not step forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against fellow soldiers.
In her report, Deschamps also sharply criticized the complaints process, saying many victims who reported an offense described their experience as "atrocious."
Sanctions, she said, are widely perceived as "meaningless, a slap on the wrist, and ineffective as a deterrent."
As members move up the ranks they "appear to become inured to this sexualized culture," she added.
In total, the military received an average of one sexual assault complaint every other day -- or 178 annually from 2002 to 2012, the two magazines reported.
According to Deschamps, the military must "address not only more serious incidents of sexual harassment and assault, but also low-level sexual harassment, such as the use of sexualized and demeaning language, which contributes to an environment that is hostile to women and LGTBQ members."
The report cites the "frequent use of swear words and highly degrading expressions that reference women's bodies, sexual jokes, innuendos, discriminatory comments with respect to the abilities of women, and unwelcome sexual touching."
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