Former Afghan interpreter suing Global Affairs employee, Canadian government for alleged sexual assaults
CBC
WARNING: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers
A female former Afghan interpreter who worked for the Canadian government in Kandahar, Afghanistan is suing a Global Affairs employee and the Canadian government for millions of dollars, alleging she was the victim of sexual assaults between 2011 and 2013.
The woman's civil suit seeks $1.75 million from the defendant for punitive damages, mental suffering and loss of future or past economic gain. She is also seeking more than $1 million in damages from the federal government.
The federal government hired the interpreter in 2009 to help with the International Security Assistance Force, the multinational military mission that included Canada. She was 15 years old at the time.
The woman's identity was previously subject to a publication ban, but the former interpreter successfully sought to have that ban lifted.
"I have determined that the way to reclaim my voice will be by telling my story and empowering other women who are facing, have faced, similar injustices to do the same," she said in court documents.
Lawyers for the unidentified Global Affairs employee being accused of sexual assault have filed a statement of defence denying the allegations. CBC News is not naming him because he has not been charged criminally and the allegations have not been tested in court.
The woman has asked CBC News not to use her name because of the nature of the allegations. She is not named in the court documents.
"I became the only female interpreter at Camp Nathan Smith. While working on the case, and without realizing what was happening, I was groomed by a senior Government of Canada official," the woman said in a statement issued to CBC News.
"As a result of my work with Canada, my life was under threat by the Taliban," the statement continues. "I was eventually lucky enough to be chosen to come to Canada. This individual offered me a place to stay in his home in Canada and ultimately went on to abuse me. What was supposed to be a beautiful story has become horrific and life-changing."
In court documents, she alleges that the defendant, employed by Global Affairs Canada, began what she describes as a "father-daughter" relationship while they were working together at the Camp Nathan Smith base in Kandahar.
She says the nature of the relationship changed and cites a number of incidents she said took place on the base, when the man began kissing her on the forehead or rubbing her back. She also alleges he showed her pornography in the presence of an American colleague.
The former interpreter says the defendant offered to help her take advantage of the special immigration program for Afghans who wanted to come to Canada and invited her to live with him and his family in Ottawa. She said the defendant spoke to her father about bringing her to Canada when they were both still in Afghanistan.
The woman says she arrived in Canada in October of 2011 and moved into the man's home in November, when she was 17. She alleges the abuse started almost immediately and continued over the course of two years, often inside the family home. She says it was never consensual.
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