In 2016 I started reporting how the chain of command and military justice system let down victims, and allowed perpetrators to avoid criminal charges, plead out or be protected at work. It's 2021. We are still having the same conversations like the 2016/17 stuff never happened
When I first started reporting I got angry calls from the highest levels of the Canadian Armed Forces telling me I was "hurting" the troops and the institution.
Will put together another spread sheet - the ideal Gen Vance told me he had when he created the admin system to deal with sexual misconduct was to fill the gaps where the military justice system wasn't working and that he couldn't change (JAG reports to political authorities)
Anybody watching the system has known where the problems are. This isn't a secret. We as the media haven't done a good enough job of keeping our eye on this ball since 2016 and I put myself on the top of that list of not good enough.
What has become more apparent was the duality of the system - the aggressive action taken against junior ranks while top brass conducted themselves to a very different standard. It is part of why troops saw Op Honour as illegitimate. The Chain of Command continued to fail victims
I hope for the sake of the victims who I have spoken with over the past 5 years that change comes. That something finally changes. I'll wait and watch to see what action there is, and no we won't stop telling their stories.
I would also say that what I have heard from many victims is that this is not just about a culture around sex or sexual misconduct - that it is about toxic power dynamics. The military by its nature has to have strong power dynamics and command but the abuse of it is the issue.
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