Impact of report on bullying and harassment yet to be seen in Defence Forces, survey finds

Almost two third of commissioned officers serving in the Defence Forces say they did not see any changes in the organisation in relation to sexual harassment or bullying in the six months after the Independent Review Group report was published, according to a poll conducted by their representative body.

In all, 62 per cent of the 644 who participated in the survey conducted by the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (Raco) said they had not noticed any change while 38 per cent they had.

The findings, which are published in the latest issue of the organisation’s magazine, Signal, suggest the majority (69 per cent) of officers see the Defence Forces as a safe working environment with 6 per cent believing it to be unsafe but many would appear to view it as imperfect.

Just 9 per cent of participating officers said they believed the response of the Defence Forces to the IRG report published in March has been timely, effective and impactful while 46 per cent said they believed it had not been.

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Commenting on the issues raised in the publication, Raco’s general secretary Lt Col Conor King suggested the issue of a safe working environment for all officers was a key one of the organisation and its members.

Raco representatives had “stressed the importance of robust and well-resourced supervision, mentoring and governance for the elimination of inappropriate behaviour,” he said.

It had also called for the External Oversight Body established in the wake of the report’s publication, to provide “effective, credible oversight of staffing levels as a key to the maintenance of effective governance and dignity in the workplace”.

Raco, he said meanwhile, welcomed the goal of ensuring the Defence Forces would be an equal opportunities employer. In the survey, almost 70 per cent of respondents said they agreed with the establishment of a better gender balance at “leadership and decision-making” levels of the Defence Forces. However, over 20 per cent said they did not.

Thirty seven per cent, meanwhile, said they believed there was a culture of “reprisal” in the organisation although many of the 32 per cent who responded they were unsure are reported to have suggested that despite individual incidents, they did not feel the issue was a cultural one for the organisation.

With the public sector pay talks set to resume early in the new year, a total of 79 per cent of officers surveyed said they believe they should have access to the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court in order to better resolve grievances. Fractionally more – 81 per cent – said they feel they are disadvantaged when compared to public sector workers by their inability to take industrial but just 35 per cent felt they should have that right compared to 46 per cent who did not.

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