A young woman cadet, believing herself to be engaging in a private and intimate sexual encounter, was betrayed by her lover. He secretly filmed the scene, and the footage was seen by his mates and her work colleagues.
In my view this was sexual assault and group rape. even though at the time the victim believed herself to be engaging in a consensual act. She told investigators that, when shown a still of herself that had been circulated, she felt physically sick.
The media publicity given to this incident has unleashed community debate ranging from criticism of the defence force culture and allegations of a boys club, cover-up mentality, to broader questioning of our societal values. Listening to the top brass of the defence force wrangling about what to do about the 'female' cadet scandal is like taking a trip back into the 1940s.
Angus Houston, chief of the defence force, said, 'We have worked very hard on women and engaged many prominent women in order to get our act together as far as women'. Neil James, the executive director of the Australian Defence Association, lamented 'that with the wide ranging inquiry and publicity it will most likely be impossible to rehabilitate the career of the lass'.
In response to a call for women to have a broader range of roles in the defence forces, James responded that 'that is alright if it works ... and it depends on bio-mechanical capacities'.
Dr Kathryn Spurling, visiting fellow at the Defence Force Academy, has written and lectured widely on the issue of women in the defence force. She contends that there is an urgent need to address the 'warrior ethic' which at its worst is sexist and racist. She cites the case of a young woman who, having topped her year at Duntroon, was told she could not serve on the ground because she menstruates.
Dr Ben Wadham of Flinders University has described 'group solidarity' as positive, functional and protective in combat. But he adds that it can produce the collective neurosis of 'group think'.
Was this collective lack of empathy and conscience operating when the group of six watched the 'private' act of sex of an unknowing young woman?
Spurling and Wadham call for fine-tuning of the warrior culture. Spurling sees the opening up of women's ropportunities in the forces as at least part of the answer. I would add that men also need to be in touch