Army chief defends stance on sexual harassment as accused soldier recalled

Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman has sought to defend her leadership of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) as a sexual assault scandal dogs the military.

“Since assuming office in January 2022, I have been strident against any act of sexual harassment involving any service member within the JDF regardless of their rank or gender,” Wemyss Gorman, the chief of defence staff (CDS), said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

It came a day after The Gleaner reported that at least 16 woman soldiers had levelled allegations of sexual assault, including rape, against a high-ranking officer.

The CDS said that the officer has been recalled from a training course overseas.

The one-year training course was being undertaken in the United Kingdom.

Wemyss Gorman, who became the Jamaican army’s first woman chief in January, said that the JDF’s sexual harassment prevention policy was crafted during her tenure as force executive officer in 2018.

“The current situation involving multiple reports against the accused is an indication that service members recognise that I am serious about any breaches against the sexual harassment prevention or any other policy,” Wemyss Gorman said.

“I can also confirm that based on the reports from the complainants, the senior officer at the centre of the sexual harassment allegations is being recalled from training overseas to enable further investigation and the appropriate disciplinary proceedings,” she added.

She said that the complainants’ information will remain confidential and opportunity to “victimise or mismanage” will not be tolerated.