As per a new report, women in the Canadian military face more harm from their peers than the enemy. Here’s more on the glaring revelation.
Arbour report reveals a shocking truth about the Canadian military
A 404-page long report by former supreme court justice Louise Arbour reveals a shocking truth about Canada’s armed forces. Known as the Arbour report, it highlights CAF’s failures in addressing sexual violence, discrimination, misogyny and trauma, mainly experienced by female members of the military over the years. As per Arbour, in the last two decades handling of sexual offences in the military courts “has done very little to improve efficiency, discipline, and morale. Therefore, I see no basis for the Canadian Armed Forces to retain any jurisdiction over sexual offences”.
“When thinking about culture change in response to the sexual misconduct crisis, the CAF leadership seems to have been incapable of examining which aspects of its culture have been the most deficient. One of the dangers of the model under which the CAF continues to operate is the high likelihood that some of its members are more at risk of harm, on a day-to-day basis, from their comrades than from the enemy,” stated Arbour. “This must change,” she added.
More on the new report and the sad reality
In this report, submitted to Anita Anand, Canada’s Defence Minister, Arbour also provided recommendations on the military justice system, military colleges, and definitions of sexual misconduct. Speaking alongside the author of the report, Anand stated, that she welcomes and accepts all the recommendations and the government will immediately begin implementing 17 of them, including offering legal assistance to victims of sexual misconduct.
The other recommendations, Anand said, would require further analysis and planning, and the government will report to parliament on its progress.
She also promised to consult territorial and provincial authorities and appoint an external monitor for overseeing progress.
Additionally, it is the third-largest study commissioned to examine sexual violence allegations in the Canadian military. In 1992, a fellow sailor raped Dawn McIlmoyle a Navy veteran as another man looked on. When I came forward, they charged me under the National Defence Act for being on the male floor, which I was taken to,” revealed McIlmoyle. She was only 19 at the time.
