Five per cent of women attending Canadian military colleges surveyed in 2023 said they were sexually attacked during the previous 12 months by being threatened, held down or hurt and forced into unwanted sexual acts, according to survey results obtained by CBC News.
Facing a personnel shortfall the CAF itself sees as "unsustainable," the Canadian military is now reviewing what Defence Minister Bill Blair has called "outdated" medical standards.
The Department of National Defence (DND) says it's taking steps to improve training for staff at the military's sexual misconduct support centre, acknowledging that men who report being abused have not always felt "safe, secure and supported."
Defence Minister Bill Blair says the government has no plans to ban alcohol in the military, but he will speak to senior military leaders in the coming weeks about how to improve the culture at social establishments on military bases that serve alcohol.
The relaxation of dress standards a year ago across the Canadian Armed Forces may surprise veterans who lived through far stricter times, but it is part of a larger effort to make the Forces more attractive to new recruits and to retain experienced members.