Senior officers in the Defence Forces groomed more junior members for sexual purposes and the spiking of drinks for the purposes of carrying out sexual attacks was “repeated and regular”, an independent review into allegations of abuse in the organisation has concluded.
There was a “discernible pattern of rape and sexual assault” in barracks, swimming areas, naval boats, showers and abroad on foreign deployments, the Independent Review Group (IRG) said.
Some members were “targeted with sadistic violence for officers’ perceived pleasure”. Others “alleged that violence was gratuitously perpetrated without any trigger beforehand”.
The IRG’s examination of sexual misconduct, bullying, harassment and discrimination in the Defence Forces, established by Government in 2021 to investigate matters first raised by a group of female veterans known as the Women of Honour, has also concluded some military personnel who alleged they were sexually assaulted or raped by colleagues eventually paid to break their contract and leave the Defence Forces.
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“They also often subsequently learn that only a fine was imposed on the alleged perpetrator and that the alleged perpetrator was promoted,” the report states. “In contrast, the victim is left completely unsupported to suffer the abuse for life, with no proper closure.”
The IRG also makes clear gender-based targeting within the military and problems with some victims being unwilling to report or “bungled investigations that last for years” being “the order of the day” are not historical problems. For example, between 2019 and 2021 “no sexual harassment cases were officially recorded” and this was out of step with other international militaries, even in small countries like Ireland.
The IRG sets out very troubling findings in its section on “criminal behaviours” under the heading “rape and sexual assault”. Apart from the “horrendous nature of the alleged rapes and sexual assaults suffered, what happened afterwards is of equal concern”.
The complainant “was often told to bury the complaint or they were asked whether they seriously wanted to complain formally”.
After setting out a very troubling culture of sexual and physical violence in the Defence Forces, the IRG concluded new legislation was required for the investigation of allegations and, as an interim measure, an independent complaints system should be established.
Women with Defence Forces experience told the IRG of “being subjected to weekly punishment, particularly when on career development or promotional courses”. Others reported “weekly punishment from their male colleagues, due to their gender, in terms of physical and mental torture”.
Men were also attacked, including being “demeaned, humiliated or severely physically assaulted to the point of doing damage to the person’s limbs”. Though the perpetrator was at times removed, other senior officers would continue the abuse on behalf of their removed colleague.
The IRG had been told the “graphic details of very severe alleged physical assaults” that “continue to the present day” and some interviewees pointed to “significant alleged trauma and life-changing damage for those who have suffered”. This included the period before 2010 when recruits could join the Defence Forces before they had turned 18 years.
The targeting of some members of the Defence Forces by others was “relentless” and members from “the northern counties in Ireland” were “under continuous pressure once targeted”.
Forms of physical assault targeted were outlined to the IRG by interviewees and included being kicked while exercising; kicked in the stomach while doing sit-ups; punched in the stomach while parading; kicked in the groin; targeted with sadistic violence for officers’ perceived pleasure; the danger of physical assault to male and female members in shower facilities.
The IRG said while it was not “applying the legal standard of proof” to the accounts of sexual and physical violence inside the Defence Forces relayed to it, “interviewees came across as highly plausible and very concerning”.
* If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article you can contact Rape Crisis Helpline (1800-778888) or the Samaritans (116123 or jo@samaritans.org)
