Sexual assault grounds to be thrown out: Vance
Previous efforts to crack down have failed
Canada’s top soldier will send out a new directive to military personnel in the coming days outlining how those who engage in sexual misconduct will be booted from the Canadian Forces.
Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance is taking more drastic measures after his previous orders to deal with the sexual misconduct crisis facing the military were ignored. He wants those who engage in such inappropriate behaviour to be punted from the Canadian Forces and, in the new directive, will outline how he intends to do that, say military officers.
Vance’s stance follows his acknowledgment in late November that his orders issued last year to crack down on sexual misconduct were ignored by the rank and file.
“I gave an order to every member of the Canadian Armed Forces that this behaviour had to stop,” Vance told a news conference last month. “My orders were clear.”
Statistics Canada released a survey in November that found almost 1,000 members of the Forces said they were victims of sexual assault in the workplace over the last year. Vance pointed out those statistics came after he issued orders about a crackdown on sexual misconduct.
Vance is promising more emphasis on “targeting” perpetrators involved in such behaviour, and his directive will also deal with those who are able to escape serious punishment through the court martial system.
Some of those involved in sexual assault have been allowed by the military justice system to strike a plea of disgraceful conduct, receiving only fines as a result. The plea bargains made with military prosecutors mean that sex assault charges are dropped and the individuals continue to serve.
Michel Drapeau, a retired colonel who is now a lawyer in Ottawa, said Vance has the power to remove military personnel from the forces but he can expect legal challenges from those who are to be tossed out.
Drapeau, who represents a number of the military personnel who have allegedly been victims of sexual assault or harassment, said Vance’s directive is too little, too late.
“Until you take away the jurisdiction of the military to investigate and prosecute sexual assaults, you won’t have change,” he said.
Drapeau said civilian police and civilian courts need to be involved to restore accountability and the sense that victims will receive some sort of justice.
Some alleged victims, fed up with what they say is the military leadership and justice system turning a blind eye to sexual misconduct, are already turning to civilian courts.
Three class-action lawsuits have been recently filed against the Canadian Forces. If those cases proceed to court, the military could be facing a potential public relations nightmare as allegations of abuse are aired in a high-profile setting, some DND officials privately worry.
Others in the military, however, don’t believe sexual misconduct is a problem and simply see the issue as being exaggerated by the media, according to internal Canadian Forces emails obtained by the Ottawa Citizen using the Access to Information law.
The Statistics Canada survey released in November was prompted by a scathing report by former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps. In her April 30, 2015, report, Deschamps found that not only was sexual misconduct “endemic” in the Forces, but condoned by the military leadership.