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Outside complaint centre to focus on victims, lieutenant general says

Maj.-Gen Christine Whitecross attends a committee on the external review into sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces, in Ottawa on Monday, May 25, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA – The Canadian Armed Forces commander at the helm of the military’s response to a scathing report about sexual misconduct says an arm’s-length complaint centre will be focused on supporting victims.

Lt.-Gen. Christine Whitecross says she will be visiting France next week as part of her research of how other countries have responded to allegations of sexual misconduct in the military.

READ MORE: True extent of sexual misconduct problem in military unknown: Whitecross

Whitecross has already met with officials from the U.S. and Australia as part of the military’s response to an outside review conducted by former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps.

Deschamps described an underlying sexualized culture in the Forces that’s hostile to women and members of the LBGTQ community. Her recommendations include setting up a complaint centre outside of the chain of command.

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She also found the military’s environment is conducive to more serious incidents of sexual harassment and assault.

Whitecross has committed to publish her findings by this fall in order to update the public on the status of the military’s response to the Deschamps report.

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