Homophobia Rife In Australian Military

(Sydney, Australia) A secret government report details soaring rates of gay harassment in the Australian Defense Forces and says the government is doing little to combat the problem.

The report was obtained by the newspaper The Australian under the Freedom of Information Act. It shows that the number of complaints based on homophobia lodged by members of the military against other soldiers and officers grew over the past year from 12 to 51.

The complaints ranged from verbal abuse to sexual assault. The report also details a growing number of sexual assaults by male officers against women in the service.

The greatest number of complaints was within the Navy, the least in the Air Force.

The internal report seriously questions the response of Defense Department officials to victims' complaints, saying "there is still a significant number of sexual offence complaints where management inaction or uncertainty has significantly drawn out the length of the case".

It comments that many victims withdrew their complaint due to the stress of the legal process, and "their unwillingness to be subjected to further trauma".

A spokesperson for the Defense Department said the service had encouraged the reporting of unacceptable behavior and the increase in complaints might indicate a heightened level of awareness due to increased familiarity with new reporting mechanisms.

http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/06/060804ozArmy.htm

Well i guess it is somewhat comforting to know the US isnt th only country to have a homophobic military force although that doesnt make it any better :(

Regards,

Lee

I also think that a lot of the complaints never used to be lodged, it would be really difficult to stand up and be counted particularly in an institution such as the Defence Forces.

Does it show that people are becoming more open to people's choice of partner or does it mean that people have more guts in standing up for what they believe in?

Just some points to ponder.

Allan