More than half women quizzed in army study report sexual assault
Defence bosses ‘‘didn’t realise the extent’’ of ongoing harassment of women, as report reveals men often don’t bother to hide sexual assault of those they work alongside in the Defence Force. Michelle Duff reports.
SURVIVORS of rape are calling on the Defence Force to establish an independent body to investigate sexual violence after more than half of serving women in an internal army report said they had been sexually assaulted or harassed in the previous year.
Sunday News obtained the report Barriers to Recruitment and Retention of Women as part of its ongoing MeToo investigation into sexual harassment in the armed forces.
It has emerged three years after the Defence Force predicted sexual violence would be stamped out under its culture change programme, Operation Respect.
Advocate Tracey Thompson, the daughter of Air Force child rapist Robert Roper, said she would be demanding a meeting with the Defence Force as a result of the report, which she described as ‘‘crushing’’.
‘‘This just should not be happening, and if they’re not doing anything about it then what are we fighting for? They can’t stand there and say what they’re doing is working.
‘‘We’re not in the 1950s – women should be able to join the army without being sexually assaulted and if this is still happening after Operation Respect they need to admit this has failed. It’s sickening, and I would strongly encourage every one of those ladies to stand up and fight, because it’s not good enough.’’
In a November 5 meeting with the four heads of Defence, Thompson says Chief of Army Major General John Boswell told her he was committed to eliminating sexual violence. She said knowing Boswell had been given this report four months previously was mind-blowing.
The research showed the need for an independent body where
Defence Force women could report sexual violence and seek help and justice without fear of repercussion, Thompson said.
The Defence Force declined Sunday News’ requests to interview Boswell.
New Zealand Army Colonel Kate Lee said the army was working on the recommendations in the report. ‘‘It’s really disappointing to have these kinds of results, but we wanted to make sure we were clear and specific about actions. There’s an acknowledgement that there’s absolutely work to be done, and this just demonstrates that we mean business.’’
Asked what the results said about Operation Respect’s
effectiveness, Lee said that was a Defence Force-wide programme. ‘‘Any change programme is going to take a lot of time, and Op Respect is dealing with a lot of issues around sexual behaviour. We wanted to know some more nuanced things we could do, we didn’t just want to know about the high-end behaviours, but all of them.’’
The army-commissioned research was carried out by former army officer Dr Ellen Nelson, who interviewed 44 current serving women soldiers and officers for the study, published in July last year. It built on her 2018 PhD interviews with 20 ex-serving officers.
Dr Nelson interviewed 27 of the women specifically about sexual harassment and assault. The women selfselected into the study as a whole, but were chosen at random for that portion. Nine women said they had been raped or the victims of a serious sexual assault in the previous year, 2019. More than half of the women had also experienced or observed indecent assault, most commonly having their bottom grabbed or touched.
‘‘All of the incidents discussed by the interviewees were sexual assault of NZ Army women by NZ Army men. Only four of these incidents were reported,’’ the
report states.
While Op Respect was a good framework, and some of the women were receiving help from its specialist Sexual Assault Response team, the problem remained, Dr Nelson wrote.
‘‘The interviews with current serving women in 2019 identified that sexual harassment and sexual assault is still a significant issue, however, due to a lack of reporting, the information the organisation is receiving regarding the prevalence of the issue may suggest the situation is better than it actually is.’’
Incidents often occurred in front of others, ‘‘indicating that the perpetrators did not attempt to be discreet with their harassment’’, the report states. ‘‘Multiple women discussed incidents where they were spoken to in a degrading, and sometimes intimidating or sexual manner, by their peers or their superiors.’’
Women did not report because they thought they would not be believed, and felt perceptions of the perpetrator as a ‘‘nice guy’’ or good at his job or the woman’s own sexual history would count against them. Ramifications for speaking up included isolation, bullying and being made to feel like a burden.
Many had ongoing anxiety as a result of the incident and no longer felt safe.
The small number of women who hadn’t experienced or observed sexual harassment or assault worked in units where there was a higher number of women, between 25-30 per cent, and a greater number of higherranked women, the study found. ‘‘This finding supports the concept of ‘safety in numbers’.’’
Recommendations included recommitting to address sexual violence by embedding its prevention in all aspects of army culture, bystander intervention training, specialist training for leaders, strategies to recruit more women, better support for victims and a review of alcohol policies.
Dr Nelson told she felt confident the army was taking the research seriously. ‘‘When I presented it you could tell some people in the room were devastated, they didn’t realise the extent that this stuff was happening.
‘‘A lot of it comes down to a culture women were not originally part of. The army has made accommodations to have women join the organisation, but they still need to do a lot more to make it truly inclusive.’’
Despite the negative findings, many women – including Nelson – reported good times in the army, she said. ‘‘I’m optimistic that now the army know about the bad, it will be even better.’’
The report also identified barriers for women in maternity, with women being forced to run or squat with heavy equipment while pregnant or recovering from childbirth. There was no maternity camouflage uniform and women had to ask formal permission to modify theirs, which in some cases was denied.
Gender-based discrimination was also an issue, with women afraid to be too friendly or ‘‘bubbly’’ in case they were ‘‘labelled as sluts’’. Women in the study had been insulted and told directly they shouldn’t be in the army.
Lee said actions so far included the launch of a Gender Inclusive Army project, the publication of a parenting guide, and instigating leadership training.
Despite two decades of trying to recruit women, numbers have remained static at 13 per cent.
‘When I presented it you could tell some people in the room were devastated, they didn’t realise the extent that this stuff was happening . . . The army has made accommodations to have women join the organisation, but they still need to do a lot more to make it truly inclusive.’ DR ELLEN NELSON, LEFT