Most military cadets say they've seen unwanted sexualized behaviour at college

Nearly seven in 10 Canadian military college students have witnessed or experienced "unwanted sexualized behaviours"in the past year, according to new research from Statistics Canada.

The StatsCanreport, released today, alsofound that the vast majorityof those students 94 percent of men and 91 per cent of women reported choosingnot to intervene in such incidents in the pastbecause they didn'tthink the incidents wereserious enough, or because they felt uncomfortable.

The military's campaign to stamp out sexual misconduct, Operation Honour, depends onmembers speaking up and reporting incidents when they see them.

The report conflicts withthe results of a review conducted by an internal military panel almost four years ago. That reviewconcluded thatthere was no culture of bullying and sexual misconduct at the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, Ont.

That study specifically examineda number of troubling incidents, includingthree suicides, which the panel blamedon leadership tensions, negative role models, academic pressure and some cadets beingafraid to ask for help.

The new StatsCansurvey, conducted among officer cadets at both of the country's military colleges, also uncovered serious complaints in addition to questionable behaviour.

"Overall, 15 per cent of women [Canadian military college] students indicated that they had been sexually assaulted in the post-secondary environment during the previous 12 months, a proportion more than four times higher than men (3.6 per cent)," the report said.

That's thefinding thatstood out for Marie-Claude Gagnon, founder of It's Just 700, a group of volunteers dedicated to helpingcurrent and formermembers of the Canadian military cope withwork-related sexual trauma.

"I think it's troubling to see that (during their collegeexperiences) female cadets are almost twice as likely to experience sexual assaults compare to the national average of all Canadian post secondary institutions," she said Thursday.

"Cadets are the future officers in our military. They will soon be entrusted with power to enforce the law, here and around the world, and work with vulnerable populations. The perpetratorsmust be held to a higher standard. Victims must be adequately cared for so they can have the choice and the ability to keep thriving in their military careers and do the hard work that will be expected of them."

Unwanted sexual touching was the most common form of sexual assault reportedby both women and men last year, according to the survey of cadets.

From jokes to contact to assault

The report defined "unwantedsexualized behaviour"as unwelcomesexual attention, comments and jokes, as well as unwanted physical contact including sexual assault.

"Many students who personally experienced unwanted sexualized behaviours indicated that they experienced them on more than one occasion," said the report, written by researcher Ashley Maxwell.

Overall, 68 per cent of students said they had seen or experienced "unwanted sexualized behaviours" since 2019.

The survey said the most common type of behaviour "witnessed or experienced by both men and women was sexual jokes."

Gagnon said the only bright spot in the report is the factthat bystander intervention appears to behigher at military colleges thanthe national average for all post-secondary institutions.

"It shows that many cadets understandthat the onus to fix sexual misconductin the CAF is everyone's mission," she said.

In terms of degree of offensiveness, military college students indicated that the most offensive type of behaviour was repeated pressure for dates or a sexual relationship, the report said.

The surveyof Canada's two military colleges the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. and the Royal Military College Saint Jean, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu was conducted online from February to July 2019 and involved 512 cadets.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he was "deeply concerned" by the findings.

"This report shows that too many officer-cadets have experienced sexual misconduct or discrimination," Sajjan said in a media statement.

"Even one instance of sexual misconduct or discrimination is one too many. That is completely unacceptable and has no place in our institutions or our country."

He pledged to take "all action necessary to ensure that these educational institutions are safe and inclusive for everyone."

Despite the concerns, the survey found officer-cadets generally felt safe on and around their military college campuses, but women who experienced unwanted sexual behaviour, were less likely to feel safe.

Many of the findings of the StatsCansurvey echo complaints about the Royal Military Collegethat date back yearsanddecades.

Before the military review panel produced its separate report in 2017, the college was the sceneof several casesof sexual misconduct, including one where an officer-cadet received a severe reprimand and a $2,000 fine after pleading guilty to one charge of assault that involvedtouching a fellow cadet without her consent on several occasions in March 2013.

In 2017, the auditor generalfound fault with the institution and questioned whether future officers would get better training at civilian universities.

"Overall, we found that the Royal Military College of Canada did not provide officer cadets with adequate training in leadership and in the proper conduct expected of future officers," said then-auditor general Michael Ferguson.

"While the Royal Military College of Canada took action when incidents were reported, we found that the number of misconduct incidents that involved senior officer cadets showed that the Royal Military College of Canada had not prepared them to serve as role models for their peers."