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Philippines

Canada military sexual assault cases handed over to civilian authorities

Philippines

Canada military sexual assault cases handed over to civilian authorities

By Agence France-Presse

Ottawa, Canada - Canada's new defense minister on Thursday ordered investigations and prosecutions over sexual misconduct in the military, including within its top ranks, be handed over to civilian authorities.

The decision followed recommendations by Louise Arbour, a former prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) tasked with helping clean up the culture within the military, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said still doesn't "get it," in terms of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

In a letter to Defense Minister Anita Anand, Arbour said that "several allegations of historical sexual misconduct" have been made this year against high-ranking officers, including the former chief of the defense staff.

She said she'd heard from soldiers during her review, launched in April, that there was "significant skepticism" regarding "the independence and competence" of military police, saying that has led to "serious mistrust in the military justice system" and in investigations.

"These recurrent allegations of historical sexual misconduct against senior CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) leaders and the related Canadian Forces National Investigation Service investigations have led me to conclude that immediate remedial actions are necessary to start restoring trust in the CAF," she said.

Arbour's review comes five years after another task force found the military had "an environment that is hostile to women... and is conducive to more serious incidents of sexual harassment and assault." In April, the military reported to the House of Commons 581 sexual assaults and 221 incidents of sexual harassment had taken place since 2015.

Trudeau last month said the situation had reached a "crisis" level.

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