Military culture must change following apology for sexual misconduct, survivors say
Former officer says Monday’s apology seemed genuine, but more needs to be done
Warning: This story contains details about sexual assault
Leah West says she believes Canada's apology for discrimination and sexual assault in the military was genuine, but added that a culture change within the entire system must continue for it to be meaningful.
"You can't just change things by changing the top or changing the bottom," West, an assistant professor at Carleton University in Ottawa and former armoured officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, told Matt Galloway on The Current.
"You need to change people's understanding and perception of what is OK all the way through the rank structure to get real culture change."
On Monday, Defence Minister Anita Anand, Gen. Wayne Eyre and deputy defence minister Jody Thomas apologized to women and men in the Forces who have been hurt by sexual assault and discrimination.
WATCH | Addressing the crisis:
"This misconduct and abuse of power led to a crisis of broken trust," in the leadership of the Department of National Defence, said Anand.
"I am apologizing to you on behalf of the government of Canada. We must acknowledge the pain and trauma that so many have endured because the very institution charged with protecting and defending our country has not always protected and defended its own members."
West served as an armoured officer for a decade and says she was sexually assaulted by a senior ranking officer during a house party in 2008.
She said she felt that Eyre, who also spoke on Monday, was genuine in his apology.
"I felt like my experience was absolutely reflected in the words that he said, and he brought me to tears," said West. "To feel heard by a man of his rank, and to see that it was genuine to me, that was the most powerful moment yesterday."
As of Friday, 18,943 serving and retired members of the military, along with civilian defence workers, have submitted settlement claims as part of a class-action lawsuit against the federal government over sexual misconduct.
Roughly 60 per cent of those survivors are women. Claims have been approved in 5,355 cases and some initial payments have been made.
WATCH | Where was the PM?
Government responsibility
West said that while Monday's apology was moving, she felt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should have been involved in making the apology.
"All of this is about taking responsibility and about accountability for past failure," said West. "I would have liked to see it from somebody who had that responsibility over the last six years."
Maj. Donna Riguidel understands why people would want to hear from Trudeau, but she feels it wouldn't have been helpful to have him involved.
Riguidel is a co-founder of Survivor Perspectives Consulting Group, which works to educate members of the Forces about military sexual trauma. She is also a survivor of sexual assault.
"I know within the survivor community there is an absolute total distrust right now of the people that have been involved in this for the last six years," she said.
"I know there's a lot of people angry out there, and I don't think that many of them would have listened to the apology all the way through had it come from the [prime minister]. I just don't."
Culture change
West said one of the first steps is instilling that culture from the very beginning, as members start their training.
"We really need to focus on ensuring that training at that level model's excellent behaviour," said West.
"But then also efforts to ensure that those who are being advanced into leadership positions [and] promotions, are not advancing people who behave badly, who don't espouse the values and culture that is necessary going forward."
Riguidel says it's as important to support survivors as to punish wrongdoers.
"The single biggest place where we can have an impact is in supporting survivors so that what happened to them doesn't have to define them," she said.
"They'll carry the scars because there's nothing that will undo what was done, but it won't be the be all end all of their experience. They'll be able to still again achieve all of their dreams and reach their full potential."
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted or who is affected by these reports. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If your situation is urgent, please contact emergency services in your area.
Written by Philip Drost. Produced by Ines Colabrese, Julie Crysler, and Paul MacInnis.
