Military sex assault and misconduct investigations increase in 2015
CBC talks to Emma Phillips about the increase in military sexual assault and misconduct investigations in 2015.
The CBC reports that investigations in 2015 were up by one third over 2014, primarily as a result of the efforts of General Jonathan Vance.
Some of the complaints came through the new crisis response center at the Department of National Defence, which was established following the External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces conducted by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Marie Deschamps. The CBC spoke to Emma Phillips who served as counsel in the External Review:
Emma Phillips, a Toronto lawyer who acted as counsel to the Deschamps commission, said she wasn’t surprised by the increase.
“I think it’s a good thing because it hopefully means that those individuals whose incidents and alleged incidents are now being investigated … will find some resolution,” she said.
Phillips said the idea of the centre was to give alleged victims a safe space to come forward.