Military rocked by allegations of sexual assault in report
Posted April 24, 2014 5:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – The country’s top military commander has ordered an internal review of programs and policies to combat sexual violence following a published report that says assaults in the Canadian Forces have reached epidemic levels.
Gen. Tom Lawson, Canada’s chief of defence staff, describes the allegations in the latest edition of Maclean’s magazine as “disturbing.”
Lawson says sexual misconduct is not tolerated within the military, a message he intends to reinforce throughout the chain of command.
The magazine, which hit newsstands today, contains a series of interviews with alleged victims, and uses access-to-information records to track military police investigations over a decade.
Lawson did not acknowledge specific cases, but says the military will pursue all allegations of sexual misconduct while protecting complainants from reprisals.
In a statement from Mexico City, where he’s meeting with his US and Mexican counterparts, Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says he’s ordered Lawson to get to the bottom of the matter.