Royal Canadian Navy hold sexual consent discussions
Military says discussions have nothing to do with HMCS Athabaskan sexual assault allegations
Some sailors from the Royal Canadian Navy have been getting a lesson in sexual consent.
The training comes as military police are investigating an alleged sexual assault on board HMCS Athabaskan.
Every member of the Royal Canadian Navy is participating in "briefings" on sexual misconduct and sexual consent.
The briefings are part of the military's pledge, called Op Honour, to stamp out bad sexual behaviour within its ranks.
One of the resources the military is using is a video created by a police force in the U.K., which has made the rounds on YouTube.
The video is called Tea and Consent and uses making someone a cup of tea as an analogy for sexual consent.
Rear-Admiral John Newton says these educational talks have nothing to do with the sexual assault allegations on the Athabaskan and the timing is coincidental.
Newton tells CBC the briefing for the Athabaskan took place at sea on Nov. 18, a week after the alleged assault took place. The conversations had been planned weeks earlier.
The Athabaskan crew weren't shown the video because they weren't able to watch it at sea. Newton says the video is not mandatory, but it's a tool the military is using.
The briefing topic was timely as it highlighted a real situation faced by the ship's company, says Newton.
"The case was known to the crew. It increased the gravity and importance of the briefings that were prescribed under Op Honour," he said.
Newton says the topic was uncomfortable, but it was rewarding because it sparked conversation among people "young and old, married and single, [and] people of all gender identities."
Newton has led four of these briefings personally. He says he hopes the same positive discourse occurred on the Athabaskan.
Newton also clarified that the incident happened in port while in Rota, Spain, when HMCS Athabaskan was docked and about to head home.
Both sailors involved were flown home separately as part of the military's commitment to protect the victim from re-victimization.
Clarifications
- A previous version of this story did not make it clear that the crew of HMCS Athabaskan had not seen the video Tea and Consent after the alleged sexual assault. In fact, the video had not been shown on the ship.Dec 09, 2015 12:33 PM AT