A new report issued by Statistics Canada indicated that the problem of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces is worsening.

The report includes a survey that showed that 3.5% of respondents in the Armed Forces reported experiencing sexual assault by another military member in 2022.

This is a very significant increase, exceeding 100% compared to the 1.6% of respondents who reported experiencing such assaults in 2018 and the 1.7% who reported the same in 2016.

Statistics Canada defines sexual assault as a sexual nature attack, or unwanted sexual contact or touching, or sexual activity that the victim could not consent to.

The survey found that victims of these sexual assaults were more likely to be women.

They were also disproportionately regular force members, younger, Indigenous peoples, members of the LGBTQ2 community, or persons with physical disabilities.

Most military personnel who said they were victims of such assaults stated that they did not report them to the authorities. In many cases, the reason was that they did not believe it would make a difference.

However, more than half of the respondents who said they witnessed inappropriate sexual behavior confirmed that they did not remain idle and intervened.

Statistics Canada said that one-third of the regular members of the Armed Forces responded to the survey conducted on behalf of the Armed Forces.

The federal agency added that more than 18,500 regular force members completed the questionnaire and submitted it in 2022, and the results were weighted to represent all regular force members.