JUST four members

of the Defence Forces have been convicted in military courts of sexual assault in the past two decades, the Irish Mail On Sunday reported this year. And none of the perpetrators then went on the sex offenders list. Currently, soldiers have the right to be tried in military rather than civilian courts. For defendants, this means they will not be automatically put on the sex offenders register even if found guilty. the revelations came against a backdrop of claims that abuse is systemic in the forces. Army whistleblower Senator tom Conan has claimed the Army deals with sex abuse cases in a similar way to how the Church used to deal with victims. He has also claimed, under Seanad privilege, that in the wake of the Women of Honour broadcast, more than 30 people – mostly women and some young men – made fresh disclosures to him of abuse. the disclosures involved sexual harassment, assault and rape in the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps. Referring to the practice of trying alleged offenders under court martial he said: ‘It is akin to the system in which the Church dealt internally with its own abusers and rapists.’ Speaking under Seanad privilege he claimed the Army promoted those who turned a blind eye.