'I felt completely betrayed:' Canadian veteran speaks out on sexual assault
Warning: This story deals with themes that some might find distressing
A Canadian veteran is speaking out about being sexually assaulted during training, telling CTV National News he felt “completely betrayed†by the chain of command when he reported it to his superiors.
Justin Hudson says that he was repeatedly sexually harassed and assaulted by two other male soldiers while training to be an aerospace officer 10 years ago.
He alleges that in one incident, a soldier held him down while he was sleeping while another groped him.
“At this time when I was experiencing this, I felt fear,†he said. “When it was over I just tried to bury it.â€
Hudson alleges other incidents where the same individuals at different times followed him into bathrooms, pinched his buttocks, exposed themselves to him and, at other times, took out their genitals and rubbed their exposed penis on his leg or rested their clothed genitals against his arm in class.
“I believe I shouted at him, and I believe I told him to f--- off,†Hudson said. “That’s sexual assault.â€
The ordeal severely affected him.
“I went from having a healthy state of mind to basically feeling totally worthless, feeling like my human dignity was trampled on, totally attacked [and] feeling completely embarrassed,†he said.
Hudson alleges when he reported the situation to his superiors at the time, the lieutenant just “stared him down†and “acted like he didn’t care.â€
He also claims he was unfairly punished by poor performance reviews after he reported what happened.
Hudson says he was so distressed by the alleged assaults and the response he received from his superiors that he left the military, left Canada, and changed his name.
“I felt completely betrayed by the chain of command,†he said. “Part of the reason why it took me so long to get over it, and part of the reason I left Canada is because I felt completely betrayed, and hurt, deeply, deeply hurt. I felt like the chain of command turned on me, they betrayed me.â€
“I felt like the Canadian Armed Forces betrayed me.â€
Hudson said he recognizes that both men and women are affected by sexual assault, but that men may struggle with coming to terms with and processing it.
“A man may possibly feel like he doesn’t want to talk about it because it’s sort of like attaching his manhood or his masculinity, so he hides it in a different way,†he said. “I didn’t want to talk about it because of the state of mind I was in. I didn’t want to bring up the memories of it…you just go from a point where you’re completely destroyed inside, completely destroyed, to building yourself back up again.â€
Hudson said the assumption or societal expectation that men should just “man up†or that they should be able to handle sexual assault is not reality.
“That’s not the case…it could affect any man,†he said. “Just because you’re a man doesn’t mean you’re immune from sexual assault or sexual misconduct, if you’re ganged up by a couple of people, you’re going to be mentally affected by that. “
Hudson’s story comes at a time of reckoning for the Canadian Armed Forces as the institution has been rocked by successive scandals of sexual misconduct, sexual assault, sexual harassment, mismanagement of complaints along with allegations of cover-ups, obstruction and misconduct.
Several high-ranking officers have been the subject of said allegations, leading to a veritable revolving door of senior officers stepping down or stepping aside, including former defence chief Jonathan Vance and the military’s human resource officer Lt.-Gen. Steven Whelan, who took over for Vice-Admiral Haydn Edmundson who stepped aside due to a police investigation of alleged sexual assault.
Newly appointed defence minister Anita Anand, in one of her first acts in the position, announced this week that she had accepted retired Supreme Court judge Louise Arbour’s call for the transfer of investigations and prosecutions of military sexual misconduct cases to civilian authorities.
Arbour recommended all criminal cases of a sexual nature in the Canadian Armed Forces, including historical cases, be referred to civilian authorities, including cases currently under investigation unless said investigation is nearly complete.
A by the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and the Director of Military Prosecutions acknowledged “the current crisis of public confidence in the military justice system,†and “consequently …will implement Mme. Arbour’s interim recommendation immediately.â€
Charlotte Duval-Lantoine of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said the new process of handling sexual misconduct cases in the military still leaves questions unanswered.
“What happens if allegations are made during deployment?†she said to CTV National News. “We have questioned if this really removes the barrier of reporting because the influence of the chain of command is still there.â€
And while Duval-Lantoine said that the armed forces are “finally seeing change†that is going to “send a shockwave†through the institution, there is still much to consider.
“The piece that is not being addressed with this recommendation is prevention,†she said. “We’re asking questions about how sexual assaults are recognized and how we can support victims better…but we are not talking about the root problem that would lead to those sexual assaults.â€
Military law expert Michel Drapeau called the move “a game changer.â€
“I think they got the attention of the brass and a would-be assaulter that there’s a new sheriff in town and things will not be handled the same laissez-faire way that’s been the same for the past 20 years or so,†he said to CTV National News.
Hudson is cautiously optimistic about the changes, but says the culture change in the military is happening “at a snails pace.â€
“I support her position on that completely,†he said of Anand referring the transfer of sexual misconduct cases to civilian authorities. “It just appears to me that there’s been too many people, throughout the entire military including the prosecutor’s office that just don’t take this sexual misconduct seriously.â€
In the future, Hudson says he wishes to go back to the military career he was so looking forward to having before his ordeal.
He has filed a new complaint against his alleged assaulters.
“I’m in a good state of mind,†he said. “I’m mentally ready to rejoin the military, I want to rejoin the military.â€
------
The following is a list of resources and hotlines dedicated to supporting people in crisis:
National Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
Hope for Wellness Helpline (English, French, Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut): 1-855-242-3310
Trans Lifeline: 1-877-330-6366
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868
ShelterSafe (a national list of women’s shelters and transition houses):
Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime: Call 1-877-208-0747 or Text: 1-613-208-0747
Hope for Men:
Men & Healing:
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
Tensions flare between Poilievre and Singh in the House after NDP says it will back Trudeau Liberals
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh got into a heated exchange in the House of Commons on Thursday, just minutes after Singh announced his party would not be supporting the Conservatives' first non-confidence motion against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government.
The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.
Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.
B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.
PM Trudeau names Anita Anand transport minister after Pablo Rodriguez quits cabinet
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tapped Treasury Board President Anita Anand to take on additional duties as Canada's minister of transport on Thursday.
Canadian women among those who allege Harrods boss sexually abused them
CTV News has learned there are multiple Canadian women alleging they were victims of sexual abuse at the hands of the late Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including machine-guns
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has lost 205 firearms since 2020, including more than 120 handguns and at least five fully automatic weapons like machine-guns.
Shohei Ohtani becomes the first major league player with 50 homers, 50 stolen bases in a season
Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star going deep twice to reach the half-century mark and swiping two bags to get to 51 against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.
Local Spotlight
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.