Sex assault report set for release
Review was ordered after alleged incidents in the Canadian Forces
I do not accept from any quarter the notion that sexual misconduct is simply part of our military culture. Sexual misconduct of any kind is wrong ... and it runs utterly contrary to everything the Canadian Armed Forces stands for. Gen. Tom Lawson
A report about sexual assault in the Canadian Forces, expected to be highly critical of the senior military leadership, is ready for release.
The report — produced by Marie Deschamps, a former Supreme Court of Canada justice — examined Canadian Forces policies, procedures and programs in relation to sexual misconduct and sexual harassment.
It also examined the extent to which Canadian Forces members reported alleged incidents of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and any reasons why reporting might not have occurred, including the role of military culture and senior officers.
The review was ordered after news media reports highlighted a high number of sexual assaults in the military that had been ignored or downplayed.
Those media reports prompted Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Tom Lawson in April 2014 to order an independent external review to look into sexual misconduct in the Canadian Forces. The review, led by Deschamps, did not begin until last July.
Lawson faced a grilling last May from parliamentarians upset about the delays in launching the review.
Committee members from all three major parties voiced concern about a lack of up-to-date data on the number of sexual assault complaints and convictions each year, as well as the fact Canadian Forces members can’t go public with complaints.
During his testimony, Lawson said he was “disturbed” by allegations in an investigation by l’Actualité and Maclean’s magazines that suggested rampant sexual assault in the military.
“I do not accept from any quarter the notion that sexual misconduct is simply part of our military culture,” he said at the time. “Sexual misconduct of any kind is wrong, is despicable, is corrosive, and it runs utterly contrary to everything the Canadian Armed Forces stands for.” But Lawson also reiterated that the situation now is much better than it was when similar concerns were raised 15 years ago.
He cited actions such as mandatory harassment training implemented after similar concerns in 1998.
And he referenced an internal Canadian Forces survey from 2012 in which 98.5 per cent of military members said they had not been subject to sexual misconduct, before warning against “jumping to conclusions.”
In March, Lawson named a female general to examine the issue of sexual harassment and assault in the military.
Maj.- Gen. Christine Whitecross will develop a plan to deal with problems identified in the Deschamps report, according to an email Lawson sent to military staff. The March 2 email was obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.
“The team will be led by MajorGeneral Chris Whitecross, who will be supported by Chief Warrant Officer Helen Wheeler to form the leadership team,” Lawson said in the message. “Its mandate will be to conduct a detailed review of the final report produced by Mme Deschamps, and to develop an action plan to address the report’s recommendations.”
Sources say the move by Lawson is designed to offset criticism when the Deschamps report becomes public, which could be as early as this week.
While Deschamps report is expected to be scathing, a number of areas were off limits to her investigation.
For example, she could not review how the military justice system or its judges approached such sexual assault cases. The activities of the military’s Judge Advocate General could also not be examined.