A commission on sexual assault set up by the Pentagon has recommended that the United States military take the decision to prosecute cases of sexual assault out of the military’s chain of command, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
If the initial recommendations made by the independent commission are accepted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, it would be a major change in the military.
Advocates and lawmakers have for years been calling for the military commanders to be taken out of the decision making process when it comes to prosecuting sexual assault cases, arguing that they are inclined to overlook the issue.
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The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Austin had not made a decision yet and would consult with leaders of the different military branches before making one.
“The secretary has asked the services to provide their candid assessment and feedback of these initial recommendations by the end of May,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
In March, the head of the commission, Lynn Rosenthal, said that all options were on the table when dealing with sexual assault in the military.
Sexual assault and harassment in the U.S. military is largely under-reported and came under renewed scrutiny recently.
Last year, an investigative panel looking into violent crimes and abuse at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas said it found a command structure that was “permissive” of sexual assaults.
The U.S. commission’s recommendation comes as Canada faces its own reckoning over sexual misconduct within its armed forces and how those complaints are handled.
Opposition MPs as well as current and former women military members have called for an outside investigation into the issue.
They have also called for an independent body with civilian oversight of the military to handle and investigate complaints as they’re brought forward, similar to the U.S. commission.
The Liberal government has promised for months it will announce steps on how to address sexual misconduct and reporting within the military, but so far no announcement has been made.
“We have some of the strongest measures in the world in terms of borders. We have seen there are direct flights from many countries of concern but there are also indirect flights as well and making sure we have a system to address all flights is something we did months ago,” Trudeau said.
In a wide ranging interview with Global News focusing on child care and the pandemic, Trudeau would not acknowledge it was a weak quarantine system that allowed the P.1 variant to get into Canada. The variant of concern originating in Brazil has accounted for 2,062 cases in British Columbia.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has previously expressed concern the federal government is not providing enough resources to ensure international travellers remain in isolation for the required 14 days.
“Over the last number of months we have been increasing our resources to increase spot checks and even visits as people are quarantining,” Trudeau said.
Canada is expected to receive 50 million doses of vaccine by the end of June. But Trudeau would not say how many doses the United States would be providing to Canada in an expected delivery.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he’s planning to give surplus COVID-19 vaccines to other countries, including Canada.
Biden said he spoke to Trudeau Wednesday about providing additional vaccine assistance to Canada, but also suggested some of the extra vaccines could go to Central America.
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