Australian servicewomen have launched unprecedented legal action against the Australian Defence Force over allegations they suffered systemic sexual violence, harassment, rape and discrimination while serving their country.
Claims of prolonged victimisation from male colleagues, including accusations of assaults within the past year, are included in a class action filed against the Commonwealth in the Federal Court on Friday.
Former RAAF member Gemma said she lost her career after her allegations of sexual assault were investigated by the ADF.
The legal action follows an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes, in which women in Defence spoke out about their sexual assaults and the pressure placed on them to stay quiet, or the consequences if they spoke up.
Four lead applicants will spearhead the lawsuit, filed by class-action law firm JGA Saddler, and include claims of waking up naked and injured with no memory of having left a party with four male colleagues, of men rubbing their groins against them and touching their breasts, having to fight off a male Navy colleague’s unwanted advances, and being groped and kissed while pinned against a wall.
The class action is open to between 10,000 and 20,000 women who have worked in the ADF since 2023, and lawyer Josh Aylward said thousands wanted their voices heard so they can push for change.
“The women in the ADF have been subjected to sexual violence, harassment, discrimination and [then] retaliation when they report that these incidents have happened,” he said.
“These women have enormous courage going to join the defence force and to fight for our country, but they should be there having to defend our country, not defend themselves from their colleagues.
“The ADF has done many reports and inquiries over the last 40 years about how bad it is for women in the ADF. But what you find in their own evidence and their own reports and independent studies is that things are getting worse for women in the ADF, and women are less likely now to report an incident happening than they were 10 years ago.”
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