Report says progress slow in eliminating military sexual misconduct

A new Canadian Forces report says a nearly-four year campaign to bring a meaningful halt to sexual misconduct in the ranks is showing mixed results.

The report follows an explosive study by a former Supreme Court Justice, Marie Deschamps, in 2015, that found a “highly sexualized culture” in the forces.

The military responded with a “campaign plan” to bring increased awareness of inappropriate sexual conduct in hopes of bringing a permanent change to attitudes and beliefs.

There were some victories.

In April, 2017 the military reported it had fired 77 persons for sexual misconduct and reopening dozens of sexual assault cases.

The report released Tuesday cites several victories but also some defeats in the campaign, which it also notes is producing signs of fatigue with the campaign, officially called Operation Honour.

It also follows an auditor-general’s report last fall that sharply criticized senior officers for not doing enough to support victims of misconduct.

Tuesday’s report says seven of Justice Deschamps’ 10 recommendations to stamp out misconduct are “not yet fully achieved” as the military struggles to implement program.

While noting that the report shows the military making great strides, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Tuesday’s report makes it clear there is more to do in eliminating misconduct.

“We owe it to our women and men in uniform to get this right and will continue to work toward the elimination of all forms of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces,” Sajjan said in a statement.

With files from CP, CBC, CTV, Huffington Post