Review into the treatment of women at the Australian Defence Force ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

A Message from the CommissionerADFA has expanded its Equity and Diversity Network and is to be commended for taking the lead inimplementing the Sexual Offence Support Person Network. These are important mechanisms and I lookforward to ADFA’s engagement with the ADF’s new Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office(SeMPRO) to ensure strong and effective support for victims.However, there are areas which still require attention. These include the development andimplementation, with an expert provider, of an evidence based sexual ethics program. The recent eventsinvolving a number of midshipmen and officer cadets allegedly participating in sexual initiation ritualsunderscores the urgency of implementing an appropriate sexual ethics education program, as envisagedby the Review’s recommendation. Despite the nature of these events, it was pleasing to observe that thesexual initiation rituals came to light because of reports made to ADFA’s senior leadership team by theRSOs. Although only in place for a short time, the RSO role is proving to be effective and valuable – bothfor the cadets and the staff.Within the ADF there is still evidence of ambivalence about ADFA’s role. A clear and unified articulationof ADFA’s vision and purpose is fundamental to ADFA achieving its potential.The right staff are vital in setting the tone and culture at ADFA. Staff have a direct and powerful impacton undergraduate experience and the achievement of superior outcomes. The Commandant nowinterviews staff before they arrive at ADFA. This is a positive development; however the interviews occurafter the posting decision has been made. The Commandant does not have delegated authority toremove underperforming staff. I acknowledge that there are competing pressures across all ADF traininginstitutions however the Commandant should have the right to veto staff selections, or at the very least,be able to interview staff before the posting decision is made.Instances of sexual harassment and behaviours which are unwelcome, inappropriate or offensivecontinue to be present at ADFA. Most people who experience this do not report it and do not seekadvice or support. As noted above, I urge ADFA to give priority to designing and implementing sexualethics and healthy relationship training. Interactive, expert training is an effective primary prevention toolagainst unacceptable behaviour and sexual misconduct, and aids in the development of a more matureunderstanding of sexual ethics.ADFA now has a promising annual Unacceptable Behaviour Survey in place and over time comparisonswill be able to be drawn with other recruit and training establishments across Defence. This will be aninvaluable aid to leadership to swiftly address issues and target action.The acceptance and implementation of the Review’s recommendations clearly demonstrates the deepand unwavering commitment of the Chief of the Defence Force, Vice Chief of the Defence Force and theService Chiefs to build a safe and inclusive culture for women.I am confident that ADFA will continue to make progress on implementing the Review’srecommendations. Consistent and sustainable progress is essential to ensure that cultural changebecomes embedded in the core values and operations of ADFA for the long term. The goodwill, energyand creativity of ADFA staff and the Review Implementation Team is clearly evident. I congratulate andthank each and every person who has contributed to these cultural reforms to date. I remain committedto ongoing dialogue and providing whatever assistance I can to ADFA to realise the intent of theReview’s recommendations.2Elizabeth BroderickSex Discrimination CommissionerAustralian Human Rights Commission
Terms of ReferenceThe Review’s Terms of Reference were developed by the Australian Human Rights Commissionafter consultation with the ADF. The Terms of Reference requested the Review Panel, led by theSex Discrimination Commissioner, to review, report and make recommendations on:a) the treatment of women at the Australian Defence Force Academy with a particular focus onthe adequacy and appropriateness of measures to: promote gender equality, ensure women’ssafety, and to address and prevent sexual harassment and abuse, and sex discriminationb) initiatives required to drive cultural change in the treatment of women at the AustralianDefence Force Academy, including the adequacy and effectiveness of existing initiatives andof approaches to training, education, mentoring and developmentc) the effectiveness of the cultural change strategies recommended by the Chief of the DefenceForce Women’s Reference Group in the Women’s Action Plan including the implementation ofthese strategies across the Australian Defence Forced) measures and initiatives required to improve the pathways for increased representation ofwomen into the senior ranks and leadership of the Australian Defence Forcee) any other matters the Panel considers appropriate that are incidental to the above terms ofreference.Additionally, 12 months after the release of the Panel’s report (the Report), the Terms of Referencerequire a further independent Report to be prepared which:• audits the implementation of the recommendations in the Panel’s Report by the AustralianDefence Force Academy and the Australian Defence Force more broadly• makes any further recommendations necessary to advance the treatment of women at theAustralian Defence Force Academy and in the Australian Defence Force.This Audit Report draws on those sections in the Terms of Reference that are pertinent to the AustralianDefence Force Academy.Audit Report: Review into the Treatment of Women at the Australian Defence Force Academy • 2013 • 3
Page 1 and 2: Review into the Treatmentof Women a
Page 3: Audit Report:Review into the Treatm
Page 6 and 7: ContentsA Message from the Commissi
Page 10 and 11: Chapter 1:Audit ApproachThe Report
Page 12 and 13: Chapter 1: Audit ApproachThe Audit
Page 14 and 15: Chapter 2: Summary of Audit Finding
Page 20 and 21: Chapter 3: MethodologyQuantitative
Page 22 and 23: Chapter 4:Implementationof ReviewRe
Page 25 and 26: Organisational PressuresDefence is
Page 27 and 28: [My awareness is] pretty limited I
Page 30 and 31: Chapter 5:ADFA’s Role andPurposeR
Page 32 and 33: Chapter 5: ADFA’s Role and Purpos
Page 34 and 35: Chapter 5: ADFA’s Role and Purpos
Page 36: Chapter 5: ADFA’s Role and Purpos
Page 40 and 41: Chapter 6:Equity and DiversityRecom
Page 42 and 43: Chapter 6: Equity and Diversity - R
Page 52 and 53: Chapter 7:ADFA’s Structure andSta
Page 54 and 55: Chapter 7: ADFA’s Structure and S
Page 56 and 57: Chapter 7: ADFA’s Structure and S
Page 58 and 59:
Chapter 7: ADFA’s Structure and S
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Chapter 8:Midshipmen and Cadetsare
Page 74 and 75:
Chapter 8: Midshipmen and Cadets ar
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Chapter 9:Accommodation andSupervis
Page 88 and 89:
Chapter 9: Accommodation and Superv
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Chapter 10: Minimising Risk, Managi
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106 and 107:
Page 108 and 109:
Page 110 and 111:
Page 112 and 113:
Page 114 and 115:
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
Page 120 and 121:
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132 and 133:
Page 135 and 136:
Further InformationAustralian Human
show all

Review into the treatment of women at the Australian Defence Force ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?