A woman alleged she was raped by multiple men at a barracks and threatened she would be kicked out of the Defence Forces if she told anyone, a tribunal has heard.
The Defence Forces Tribunal is examining allegations of sexual misconduct, bullying and discrimination in the forces following the recommendations of an independent review group (IRG).
At the outset of its second week of public oral hearings, the tribunal’s sole member, Judge Ann Power, reiterated that it is not tasked with determining the merits of individual complaints of abuse and has no power to do so.
Witnesses are not permitted to name any alleged abusers, who are to be anonymous under the terms of the inquiry.
On Wednesday, a witness who can only be referred to as Ms Y gave evidence from behind a screen.
Answering questions from Lalita Morgan Pillay BL, for the tribunal, she confirmed she was a member of the Reserve Defence Forces in around 1995 for about two-and-a-half years before joining the Permanent Defence Forces in 1997 until the late 2010s.
She went on to describe a traumatic event in the Army Camp in the late 1990s when she was 19.
One of them said that 'If you ever say anything, you will be kicked out of the Army'
She said she was raped by more than one man and became pregnant.
According to the published daily transcripts, she told the tribunal: “That night, I was asleep in the bed, woke – half woke up – thinking I might have heard something, but wasn’t sure so kind of ignored it.
“The next thing then was the door opened and a number of individuals came in.
“As I said, to this day, I can’t remember if it was two or three individuals came in – pinned me down to the bed, face down, removed the bed covers and removed my underwear and proceeded to have sex with me.”
She added: “They took turns having sex with me that night and, when they were finished, one of them said that ‘If you ever say anything, you will be kicked out of the Army’.”
Y explained how she had showered, stripped the bed and lay there until it was time for work the next morning, where she “carried out my day’s work”.
She said she believed the threat and was afraid she would lose her dream job.
Y said she later missed her period and discovered she was pregnant through a test.
“I was devastated and cried my eyes out. What was I going to do? I was 19, in the Army, that’s all I ever wanted to do.
“If I say anything, am I going to be gone? Is this the end of my Army career?”
She told her mother and a termination was organised before she returned to work.
She outlined how she closed herself off, got very emotional, and withdrawn – also suffering flashbacks and low mood.
Y said she “never” considered reporting the rape as her priority was not to get “kicked out” of the Defence Forces.
She added: “Secondly, it would have been: Who do I report it to? I wasn’t close to anybody to report it to within the unit.”
She questioned whether people would say she was “making it up”.
I would love to see an independent body for complaints within the Defence Forces
Asked why she did not go to An Garda Síochána or the Military Police, she added that she did not know who attacked her and she did not want her unit to be alerted to her potential allegation.
Asked what changes she would like to see, she said: “I would love to see an independent body for complaints within the Defence Forces, which means no ex-members of the force within the independent body.
“Just like An Garda Síochána, they have their independent body for investigations.
“You can’t have an organisation looking into their problems.”
She added: “That’s like the guards investigating a robbery that they carried out. It just doesn’t work, so it doesn’t.”
In a later session, a man with the pseudonym Mr R – who had enlisted in the Defence Forces in 1998 – made allegations about incidents at Clonmel Barracks.
On two occasions, he alleged he woke up to a person touching his “anal regions” and “privates in general”.
After the second time, he said he brought it up with a sergeant who he alleged told him “you’re not to bring this up again” and “you’ll lose your job in the Defence Forces if you bring it up again”.
He said the issue was never discussed with anybody again, and the incidents did not reoccur.
After being stationed elsewhere, he eventually returned to Clonmel despite pleading not to go back.
He said he “got every dirty detail of a job that could be possibly given” to him and was under “constant pressure”.
He told the tribunal he did not know at the time that there were avenues to talk about his problems or complaints processes he could follow.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
