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Report on Abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy REPORT on ABUSE at the AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE ACADEMY Defence Abuse Response Taskforce

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Report on Abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy REPORT on ABUSE at the AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE ACADEMY Defence Abuse Response Taskforce DEFENCE ABUSE RESPONSE TASKFORCE RESPONSE ABUSE DEFENCE DEFENCE ABUSE RESPONSE TASKFORCE Report on abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy REPORT ON ABUSE AT THE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE ACADEMY FORCE DEFENCE AUSTRALIAN THE AT ABUSE ON REPORT DEFENCE ABUSE RESPONSE TASKFORCE Report on abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy NOVEMBER 2014 ISBN: 978-1-925118-69-8 © Commonwealth of Australia 2014 All material presented in this publication is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence (www.creativecommons.org/licenses). For the avoidance of doubt, this means this licence only applies to material as set out in this document. The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website as is the full legal code for the CC BY 3.0 AU licence (www.creativecommons.org/licenses). Use of the Coat of Arms The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are detailed on the It’s an Honour website (www.itsanhonour.gov.au). Contact us Enquiries regarding the licence and any use of this document are welcome at: Commercial and Administrative Law Branch Attorney-General’s Department 3–5 national cct BARTON ACT 2600 Call: 02 6141 6666 Email: [email protected] DEFENCE ABUSE RESPONSE TASKFORCE 26 November 2014 Senator the Hon George Brandis QC Attorney-General PO Box 6100 Senate Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Senator the Hon David Johnston Minister for Defence PO Box 6100 Senate Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Attorney-General and Minister I am pleased to present the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce (Taskforce) Report on abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), which provides a detailed discussion of the complaints received by the Taskforce relating to abuse that occurred at ADFA. It is tabled alongside the Taskforce Report on abuse in Defence. That report contains the Taskforce’s recommendation in relation to whether a Royal Commission is merited into abuse at ADFA. Yours sincerely The Honourable Len Roberts-Smith RFD, QC Chair Defence Abuse Response Taskforce Contents FOREWORD iii GLOSSARY, ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS v 1. SUMMARY 1 2. BACKGROUND 3 2.1 Defence Abuse Response Taskforce 3 2.2 DLA Piper Review 4 2.3 Background to ADFA 5 2.4 Public accounts of abuse at ADFA 6 3. COMPLAINTS OF ABUSE AT ADFA 10 3.1 Overview 10 3.2 Statistical summary 10 3.3 Sexual abuse 12 3.4 Sexual harassment 18 3.5 Physical abuse 20 3.6 Harassment and bullying 24 4. DEFENCE MANAGEMENT OF REPORTS OF ABUSE AT ADFA 36 4.1 Taskforce approach to management of reports of abuse by Defence 36 4.2 Actual reports of abuse at ADFA 37 4.3 Reasons for under-reporting of abuse at ADFA 42 4.4 Defence mismanagement where there was no actual report of abuse 47 5. SEXUAL ABUSE EXPERIENCED BY WOMEN AT ADFA IN THE 1990S 50 5.1 The focus on sexual abuse at ADFA in the 1990s 50 5.2 Overview of sexual abuse experienced by women at ADFA in the 1990s 52 5.3 Def ence management of reports of sexual abuse of women at ADFA in the 1990s 58 5.4 What has been done about cases of sexual abuse of women at ADFA in the 1990s 61 CONTENTS i 6. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO ABUSE AT ADFA 65 6.1 Gender and culture issues 65 6.2 Staffing issues 67 6.3 Supervision and security 68 6.4 Alcohol 68 6.5 Reporting of abuse 69 6.6 Leadership issues 69 6.7 The current situation at ADFA 70 7. IMPACTS OF ABUSE AT ADFA ON COMPLAINANTS 74 7.1 Impacts at the time of the abuse 74 7.2 Longer term impacts 79 8. TASKFORCE OUTCOMES AND ENGAGEMENT WITH COMPLAINANTS 85 8.1 Taskforce engagement with complainants 85 8.2 Taskforce outcomes 85 8.3 Other outcomes requested by complainants 89 9. CONCLUSIONS REGARDING ABUSE AT ADFA 90 9.1 Overarching conclusions about the nature and extent of abuse at ADFA 90 9.2 Findings of the DLA Piper Review 93 9.3 ADFA and ongoing efforts by Defence to address abuse 97 APPENDICES 98 Appendix A: Case studies 98 Appendix B: Taskforce Terms of Reference 108 Appendix C: Taskforce assessment process 110 Appendix D: Plausibility factsheet 112 Appendix E: Relevant reviews conducted into ADFA or broader ADF 113 Appendix F: Statistical summary of ADFA complaints as at 2 October 2014 114 Appendix G: Statistical analysis of ADFA complaints as at 2 October 2014 115 ENDNOTES 118 ii REPORT ON ABUSE AT THE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE ACADEMY | NOVEMBER 2014 Foreword My time at ADFA can be summarised as three years spent being terrified, and on occasion, scared for my life. I was psychologically and physically abused during this time. […] The worst thing was that no staff members helped. (Cadet, late 1980s) After I was raped [he] told me that if I made an official complaint I would not be allowed to stay at ADFA and that no one would believe me. I made no report of the incident at this time. (Cadet, mid 1990s) He left after this and I stayed awake for a lot of that night as I was too scared to sleep in case he would enter my room again whilst I was sleeping and try something else again. (Cadet, early 2000s) The next thing I remember is waking up for a few seconds, and I was outside and on my back. I was on the ground and it was grassy and cold. [The male cadet] was having sex with me. He was on top of me. I don’t know how I got there. I tried to push him off but I didn’t feel in control of my body and I couldn’t do it [...] I couldn’t move. (Cadet, mid 2000s) Accounts of abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) have featured in media reports, cultural reviews and court cases since its establishment in 1986 and continuing to the present day. In 2011, allegations of sexual misconduct at ADFA—the ‘skype incident’—prompted a raft of cultural reviews not only into ADFA, but also into Defence more broadly. Since the ADFA Skype incident, the issue of abuse at ADFA has featured prominently in our public discussions about Defence’s culture. The Defence Abuse Response Taskforce (Taskforce) was established in November 2012 as part of the Government’s response to the review conducted by law firm DLA Piper (DLA Piper Review). The Taskforce has placed a high priority upon assessing allegations of abuse at ADFA—in particular, the cluster of allegations of sexual abuse occurring in the 1990s noted in the DLA Piper Review. This report is based on the personal accounts of complainants who experienced abuse at ADFA. Some recounted serious incidents of sexual abuse where those responsible appear not to have been held to account. Others spoke of relentless sexual harassment and bullying, particularly of female cadets and cadets in their first year of training at ADFA, often perpetrated by more senior male cadets. Many complainants described a culture at ADFA, which discouraged reporting and enabled abuse to occur and remain unpunished. We do not doubt that some people had positive and formative experiences at ADFA, and have gone on to pursue successful careers as officers in Defence. However, the information provided by complainants and other people who have contacted the Taskforce raises a significant number of allegations, some very serious, of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, physical abuse and harassment and bullying at ADFA. Virtually all ADFA complaints assessed as raising one or more plausible allegations of abuse have also been assessed as including one or more plausible cases of Defence mismanagement. In particular, the Taskforce has found that there was a disturbingly high incidence of sexual abuse of female cadets at ADFA in the 1990s; that in some cases, reports of sexual abuse were seriously mismanaged by Defence; and that a number of individuals allegedly responsible for perpetrating sexual abuse are still serving in Defence. The majority of cadets enter ADFA directly following or shortly after high school. This means that those who suffered abuse during their time of living and studying at ADFA were between 17 and 20 years old, living away from their homes and family, sometimes for the first time. Unsurprisingly, the serious abuse experienced by complainants at ADFA has had a significant impact on their lives and careers, both at the time and for many years afterwards. These impacts have included physical injuries; severe emotional distress; serious psychological disorders; ostracism by peers; ruined careers; suicidal ideation; social isolation and many others. FOREWORD iii In this report, the Taskforce has drawn some overarching conclusions about the nature and extent of abuse that occurred at ADFA. However, we must acknowledge that it is very likely that many of those who experienced abuse at ADFA did not come forward to the Taskforce or the DLA Piper Review—and may never reveal the abuse they suffered. It is important to note that the Taskforce is only able to look at complaints of abuse occurring before April 2011. Recent cultural reviews indicate that ADFA is now a very different institution to when it was first established. However, the disturbing accounts of abuse that the Taskforce has received and the fact that there are individuals responsible for this abuse still serving in Defence remain matters of grave concern. There has been significant public discussion regarding whether a Royal Commission should be established in relation to abuse at ADFA. The Taskforce’s recommendation in relation to this issue is provided in the Report on abuse in Defence, tabled alongside this report.
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