Uniform Justice: Rape victim claims Navy offered cash for silence, soldier’s abuse file leaked by defence

A former navy sailor has claimed she was offered money to stay silent about a violent sexual assault; while a raped and bullied ex-army soldier says her abuse file was leaked by defence.

An Australian Navy sailor drugged and raped while on exchange voyage with the New Zealand Navy.

A sailor who shared her story of being raped while attached to a New Zealand Navy ship has accused the Australian Navy of approaching her behind the back of her lawyers.

The woman, who can only be identified as Jennifer, reported the drugging and violent rape to a superior officer on the RNZN ship the day after it happened at Sembawang port in Singapore in 2007, only to be warned she would be sent home to Australia and known forever as “the girl who got raped”.

Years later, when she found the courage to report the sexual assault, she was notified by the Commonwealth Ombudsman that the case was “outside its jurisdiction”.

The woman, who shared her story as part of The Sunday Telegraph’s Uniform Justice campaign, said this week that a senior Navy lawyer came to her house in uniform, at the stated direction of the Chief of Navy, “to offer various sums of money and other options aimed at somehow resolving the issues associated with the rape and Navy’s refusal to take any action at the time”.

“This was all very confusing. I found it difficult to process what was going on. I even said a couple of times that Navy should be speaking with my lawyer, Glenn Kolomeitz, who is known to the Navy lawyer and who she clearly knew is representing me.”

Mr Kolomeitz, who is representing the survivor in this case and a dozen more, said: “This action by the Chief of Navy in sending a senior Navy lawyer to see a vulnerable client and offer her money, whilst the client is legally represented, again demonstrates how the ADF leaders believe they are above the law – that ethical rules just don’t apply to them.

Lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz is representing the Navy officer only identified as Jennifer. Picture: ABC

“The senior Navy lawyer involved is a genuinely good person who undoubtedly had the best of intentions but that does not displace the serious ethical breach involved here.

“It is aggravated by the fact the survivor of military sexual trauma – our client – left the Navy because of the Navy leadership’s failure to comply with the law and policies following the rape.”

Mr Kolomeitz said the Chief of Navy’s action had caused further distress to this vulnerable survivor.

“She deserves an apology from him and this time any contact should go via the survivor’s lawyers and, importantly, her military sexual trauma case manager who can then facilitate appropriate mental health support.”

A Defence spokesman said: “In accordance with privacy requirements, Defence is unable to discuss any matters containing personal information.”

SOLDIER’S ABUSE FILE LEAKED BY DEFENCE

A former army soldier who claims she was raped and bullied by fellow soldiers and officers thought she had found justice by reporting the incidents to the Defence Ombudsman – only to have her personal information leaked by defence.

Debra Haynes says she was bullied, raped and sexually assaulted multiple times in her four years in the army, which started when she was just 18 years old in 1996.

After a night out drinking with her roommate and some male soldiers, Debra went back to her room to go to sleep.

After hearing a knock on the door and assuming it to be her roommate, she unlocked it and got back into bed, only for a male soldier to follow.

“He laid on top of me, I can still now smell the beer and remember him trying to take my underwear off,” she said.

Debra Haynes was just 18 when she enlisted, and endured multiple sexual assaults while in the army.

“[The soldier] tried to forcibly kiss me by holding my face with one hand and running his other hand over my bare breasts and vaginal area,” she said.

“At that point I said if he didn’t get away I would report him the next day, and finally he stopped because he was a real army man.”

Without any support systems and a military culture that punished victims, Debra didn’t report the incident.

Things got worse for the young soldier in 1997 when she agreed to let a married male soldier friend of hers sleep on her floor after a night out.

“He was fighting with his wife so I said he could sleep on the mattress on my floor … when we go to bed I’m dead to the world and the next thing I know he had me pinned down.

“He pulled my undies to one side and digitally raped me … I was in shock, I froze.”

Ms Haynes has suffered poor mental health after her traumatic time in the army.

“I think he realised what he was doing, returned to the mattress on the floor and went to sleep.”

Ms Haynes said she still finds it difficult to enjoy sex after the painful experience and still suffers from the mental and psychical repercussions of the incident.

With a past recruiting instructor who would call the women “sluts”, Debra’s experience of the army was one of cover ups and silence.

“In serious cases the victim needs to be able to attend a hospital anonymously so their injuries are recorded for future claims or criminal proceedings,” she said.

After receiving a medical discharge in 2000, Debra pushed the pain down until it all came bubbling to the surface during Anzac Day 2014.

“All the flashbacks and the memories started to come back with an absolute vengeance … that was Anzac Day and by November I tried to kill myself,” she said.

“Over the years I had remembered things but I would just push it down, push it down until I just couldn’t anymore.”

Debra has since began receiving treatment for PTSD, BPD, anxiety and alcoholism from her time in the army.

After reaching breaking point, Ms Haynes made a complaint about her assault to Defence.

Ms Haynes had her personal information leaked by defence.

She went through the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce (DART) and was relieved to receive an acknowledgment of her abuse, but was shocked when an email landed in her inbox telling her the details of her complaint and her personal information had been leaked to a third party.

The Ombudsman’s email, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, said they had reached out to the third party and asked them to delete the information, but did not say who the third party was.

“So somewhere out there is my whole case, I didn’t feel safe, my address was somewhere out there … so I was forced to move,” she said.

“Overall the DART process was good, better than DVA but unfortunately for me they leaked my information.”

A spokesman for Defence said there is no place for sexual misconduct in the organisation.

“All allegations are taken very seriously. Incidents of sexual misconduct do not align with Defence values.” the spokesman said.

“Defence is focused on supporting victims of historical abuse and ensuring that any allegation of sexual abuse is taken seriously. Defence respects the wishes, privacy, and confidentiality of victims and will not comment on individual matters.”

Army veteran and lawyer representing victims of military sexual abuse Glenn Kolomeitz said: “Yet again, the Defence employer with a duty to protect its employees has failed a serving ADF woman. Yet again, the chain of command which, in the absence of organised industrial protection, is expected to provide a safe workplace, has enabled the sexual trauma.

“It is time to fix this broken system and properly compensate our survivors of military sexual trauma – the quantum of damages paid to a former political staffer after her stated affair with a Minister sets a good baseline precedent.”