The Canadian Armed Forces says it is making progress in the fight against sexual misconduct in the ranks, but more work needs to be done.
In an update today, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance says the military completed 51 investigations into inappropriate sexual behaviour between April and July.
As a result, 30 people received what officials called “career-impacting” punishments ranging from fines to outright dismissal from the forces. Three more were referred to civilian authorities while the perpetrator in four cases could not be identified.
Ten cases were considered unfounded.
While officials say the results show the military is taking the issue of sexual misconduct seriously, they say more needs to be done. There were 97 reports of inappropriate and harmful sexual behaviour over the same period.
The military says it has hired more investigators, and that it is working with Statistics Canada to get a handle on the true magnitude of the problem.
(The Canadian Press)
