Canadian soldiers not ordered to ignore sex abuse of Afghan children: inquiry

An investigation by Canada's military shows Canadian soldiers were not ordered to cover up child sexual abuse by Canada's Afghan allies. 

But the inquiry found Canadian commanders were slow to take action when reports of abuse came to their attention. 

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The report by a military board of inquiry was completed in 2010, but is only being made public now, two years after the end of Canada's mission in Afghanistan. 

The board was first convened in 2008 to investigate allegations that Canadian soldiers had been ordered to ignore incidents of sexual abuse by their Afghan allies. 

After hearing from more than 100 witnesses, the board found no evidence any such order was ever issued. 
It did unearth significant failings in the way the military reacted when confronted with evidence Afghan soldiers serving alongside Canadian personnel were abusing young children. 

"The board received several reports of CF personnel having witnessed or suspected sex acts between ANSF [Afghan National Security Force] members and children," the report says. 

"These reports include incidents of oral sex and genital fondling under clothing. There was one report of CF medical personnel having treated both male and female children for rectal damage as a result of sexual assault. These incidents were either not reported or reporting was not transmitted beyond platoon level."

Reports not passed up chain

The report cites poor communication as part of the problem. 

It says reports of sexual abuse first surfaced in 2006, but were not passed up the military chain of command.
The board found evidence of at least six cases in which Canadian commanders were informed of possible abuse.

"Any action taken was limited to the unit level," the report says.

"In no cases were the reports passed to higher command."

The report does describe how one battle group commander took action after hearing of abuse in 2007, but the report also notes how those efforts were short-lived. 

"His action effectively resolved the issue for the period of his unit's deployment," the board found. 

"Unfortunately, although the CO's action was entirely appropriate, his direction was verbal, not reported higher to commander JTF-AGH (Joint Task Force Afghanistan) and, because the issue was considered resolved, was not passed on to the next contingent."

Confusion over what was acceptable

Along with poor communication, the board found there was also a degree of confusion among Canadian soldiers about what was and was not acceptable in Afghanistan's traditional culture. 

The report tells of how virtually every Canadian soldier in Afghanistan knew of a practice known as "Man Love Thursday."

"This term refers to the regular gathering of men on the Thursday evening before the Islamic holy day," the report says, noting many Canadian soldiers perceived it as a time of widespread homosexual activity among Afghan personnel.

"More disturbingly," the report goes on, "a minority of CF soldiers believed Man Love Thursday included regular sexual assault of minors."

Lessons learned

For all its criticism, the report takes pains to put the issue of child sexual abuse and the military's response to it in context.

"At the time the incidents were reported to have occurred, [Canadian Forces] personnel were involved in a new, highly complex and dangerous mission. They were living in extremely harsh conditions and were under constant and deadly attacks from a determined enemy. Survival and combat were primary missions and all other issues were secondary," the board said.

"Thus, although it is explainable why soldiers who may have witnessed or suspected what should have been considered illegal sexual activity did not report the incidents to their chain of command, it is also true that overall the [Canadian Forces] did not deal effectively with this issue."

Col. Jay Janzen, a spokesman for the Canadian Forces, said many of the recommendations in the report have already been acted upon. 

"I'm happy to say we are in a much better place today in terms of our training and awareness of these issues than we were back then," he said.

When asked why it took six years to make the report public, Janzen acknowledged the process had taken too long. 
He insisted the delay was not intentional and was the result of the military being otherwise occupied in recent years with missions in Libya, Northern Iraq and Eastern Europe. 

"I welcome the findings of the [inquiry] and acknowledge that work needs to be done on several fronts, including the length of time it has taken us to release this report," said Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance.

"However, I am pleased to note that the Canadian Armed Forces has already acted on many of the recommendations, which will help contribute to the safety of vulnerable populations in current and future theatres of operations," Vance added.