Test for JDF woman chief as sex assault scandal rocks army

History-making army chief Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman is facing her first leadership acid test since rising to the helm in January as allegations of sexual assault mount against a high-ranking member of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).

More than 16 women have filed complaints of rape, fondling, and unwanted sexual advances against the senior army man, who remains on the job, Gleaner sources have indicated.

The scandal began unravelling after the first female soldier complained to army brass that she was sexually assaulted by the senior officer, who The Gleaner will not name because he has not been formally charged.

Soon after, other soldiers began coming forward with complaints.

The JDF has not yet responded to Gleaner queries and it has not indicated if the police have been asked to investigate.

Gender experts have expressed doubt that the Jamaican army – even under its first female chief of defence staff – can shed the vestiges of patriarchy and machismo which have marginalised women for decades.

Judith Wedderburn, a gender practitioner, has poured cold water on expectations that the matter will be transparently investigated.

She said it was “unrealistic” to expect a sea change in the JDF's culture of secrecy.

“What is the statute or the law under which the JDF functions such that its own internal disciplining mechanisms are internal, especially on a case like this?” Wedderburn questioned.

“So my expectations that anything will be different are very low. I'm alarmed that so many women have come forward, but I'm not encouraged that it will make any difference because it has become public and we have a female chief of defence staff. Reading between the lines, we will get nothing more from the JDF,” she said, adding that the army's leadership has historically had a low bar of accountability.

The JDF confirmed a Gleaner report on Monday of the sexual assault scandal but said that it commenced preliminary investigations into allegations of “sexual harassment”.

The military said that the probe was launched “as soon as the report was received” but asserted that it would not comment further on the matter.

It said that the JDF has a “robust” sexual harassment prevention policy and treats any breaches with zero tolerance.

“The force has a track record of dealing with disciplinary breaches of any kind where persons are found culpable,” the JDF said in a statement.

Wedderburn, however, said that there has been no guarantee that the women who have so far reported the matter will not be punished.

“How can we be assured that the women will get justice under the Sexual Harassment (Protection and Prevention) Act? The military is the military, but this must be explored further,” Wedderburn said.

Cultural studies lecturer at The University of the West Indies, Dr Lisa Tomlinson, said sexual assault in militaries has been a historical practice where women soldiers, especially in combat zones, may be raped by their male colleagues.

“This is something that needs to be talked about where female soldiers are likely to be raped then killed in action,” she said, pointing to the United States where multiple studies have confirmed her assertion.

“Not even just rape, but sexual harassment, these are issues we must address. I'm not surprised that it is happening in the military. What surprises me is that these women have come forward,” she added.

In an October 2021 publication, The New York Times called the epidemic of military sexual assault in the US a “poison in the system”.

It said nearly one in four US servicewomen reported being sexually assaulted but cited difficulty in changing the culture.

There has been no published work on its prevalence locally.

“Just because we have women at the head of these male-dominated spaces [doesn't] mean things are going to change for other women. That necessarily might not be the case, because unfortunately sometimes even within these powerful positions, there is still intimidation and they are still working along those lines of patriarchy.

“So having a woman at the helm of the army is not going to change the way the investigation is looked at. We would hope so, because she is a woman, but that's a kind of unrealistic way to think,” Tomlinson said.

The army has been rocked by a string of sex assault and harassment allegations over the last two years, including the reported March 2021 rape of a trainee by two soldiers at Up Park Camp, the defence force's headquarters.

A relationship between a woman soldier and a male superior also sparked a scandal in 2021.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com