Military centre for assault victims sees explosion in requests after year of allegations
Global News
The surge in new calls has sparked the hiring of more counsellors to address what is being described as "an ongoing crisis."
The head of the response centre for victims of military sexual misconduct says her organization has seen an explosion in requests for assistance since February, with many Armed Forces members “triggered” by allegations of inappropriate behaviour by senior officers.
Sexual Misconduct Response Centre executive director Denise Preston said many service members are also struggling after submitting their claims as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement with the government.
“What we saw, and it’s been maintained throughout the year, is once the allegations started breaking in February and March, we saw an immediate increase in call volume,” she said in an interview.
“Some weeks we had double or triple the number of calls” than usual, she said.
The surge in new calls has sparked the hiring of more counsellors to address what Preston described as “an ongoing crisis,” even as the five-year-old centre prepares to launch several new and highly anticipated initiatives in the new year.
Those include providing independent legal advice and peer support for victims, and a restorative engagement process in which victims will speak to senior defence officials about their experiences in the hopes of preventing similar incidents in the future.
“This program holds tremendous potential for healing and also for transformation of the culture,” Preston said of restorative engagement, which will kick off in earnest in January after months of consultations and preparation.
The centre, which previously served only serving military personnel but has recently expanded to assist veterans and civilian defence officials, is also preparing to expand its footprint across the country and will provide funding to more community-based centres.