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The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has acknowledged its failure to deal with sexual misconduct within its ranks.
The Department of Defence said in a statement that it was committed to “doing better” to treat all allegations of sexual misconduct within the ADF “seriously.”
“Defence acknowledges our previous failures to adequately handle sexual misconduct incidents,” it said.
The statement did not reference specific incidents.
It said, any ADF member who experienced sexual misconduct was strongly encouraged and supported to report the incident.
This came when sexual assault complaints in the ADF hit an eight-year high of 187 cases in 2020-21, up from 160 the previous year, and three times higher than the 60 in 2013-14.
The statement said all victims were encouraged and supported to report sexual offences to relevant state or territory police.
“In all cases of sexual misconduct, if the alleged perpetrator is an ADF member and if the victim agrees to take action, Defence will consider disciplinary or administrative action.”(Xinhua/NAN)
