This sailor is suing the Armed Forces for abuse of LGBT people
A former sailor is suing the Canadian Armed Forces for its alleged culture of abuse and harassment towards women and LGBT service people.
Nicola Peffers is taking the action on behalf of all lGBT members, saying the organisation routinely allowed for people to be turned over for promotion because they refused to sexually satisfy their seniors.
“I was essentially trapped on the ship — I couldn’t leave,” Nicola Peffers told CHEK News.
“My P1 was playing footsy with me under the table while he was naked and he ordered me to sit with him and implied if I didn’t please him he wouldn’t give me his watch, which is what you need to advance your career.”
The lawyers behind the class action case are hoping the suit will cause others to break their silence and come forward.
“I expect initially there will be hundreds of people that sign up for this class action and eventually it could reach into the thousands from the statistics we’ve seen,” says lawyer Rajinder Sahota.
Last week Canada’s Armed Forces revealed that almost 1,000 sexual assaults complaints had been made in the past 12 months.
A previous suit against the authorities saw a multi-million dollar pay out for sexual harassment.
“Efforts by survivors and the upper ranks of the forces have failed to address the problem,” Foley says.
“This class action seeks to right those wrongs.”
