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A lawyer whose review uncovered widespread sexual abuse in the Australian Defence Force more than a decade ago has accused the armed forces and government of putting more personnel at risk by failing to act on key recommendations.
Gary Rumble, one of the leaders of a 2011 review commissioned by the government that identified more than 1000 allegations of abuse, said it appeared very little had changed after a royal commission and an investigation in this masthead found abuse was ongoing.
Gary Rumble in a Senate committee hearing in 2014.Credit: Andrew Meares
“As far as I can tell, our report had little, if any, impact on successive governments and the ADF,” Rumble said.
“It is unconscionable that the ADF continues to run recruitment campaigns and advertisements targeted on recruiting women,” he said. “My strong advice to anyone, particularly any woman, considering joining the ADF is to take the time to read just ... two pages.”
Those pages of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide’s report, delivered last year, describe how sexual assault and misconduct have contributed to suicides by current and former members of the defence force. “The majority of victims are women … ex-serving women [are] dying by suicide at twice the rate of the general female population,” the report reads.
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The 2011 investigation, co-led by Rumble, known as the DLA Piper review, made extensive recommendations to root out sexual misconduct in the defence force, including better management of records to identify perpetrators and aid convictions.
But in evidence to the royal commission, defence officials testified they had not completed work on data analysis systems to support monitoring for sexual misconduct. “I grieve for the members of the ADF whose lives have been damaged and lost,” Rumble said.
Defence Minister Richard Marles is on leave and has not personally addressed this masthead’s reporting that, nine months after the Royal Commission recommended a dedicated inquiry into sexual violence in the military, no one has been appointed to lead it.
A government spokeswoman referred to a statement issued on Monday that apologised to victims of misconduct.
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“The rates of sexual violence reported in the ADF are completely unacceptable,” the spokeswoman said. “Such behaviour stands in stark contrast with the values and the standard expected by Australians.”
The spokeswoman said the government was committed to implementing the royal commission’s recommendations, which it overwhelmingly accepted, and was taking advice from an internal taskforce.
“This depth of reform takes time and sustained effort, but we are committed to meeting the expectations of our defence community and broader Australian society to deliver urgent and effective change,” the spokeswoman said.
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