A naval cadet felt she could not make a complaint about an alleged sexual assault because it would mark her out as a troublemaker, the Defence Forces Tribunal has heard.
The tribunal was established following a 2021 RTÉ Radio documentary, Women of Honour, which alleged sexism, bullying and the inadequate investigation of sexual assaults in the Defence Forces.
It is being heard in front of Judge Ann Power.
Ms A, who was a member of the Naval Service during the late 1990s and early 2000s, gave evidence from behind a screen. A ruling by the tribunal means that she cannot be identified.
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She was on board an Irish naval ship as a cadet when a member of the crew entered her cabin.
When she woke up, the man was partly in the bed and had pulled her pyjama bottoms down.
She told the tribunal that she decided not to make a complaint as she had been drinking earlier that evening.
“I was a cadet – you don’t rock the boat,” she said. She requested a lock for her cabin. Instead, she was moved to a different cabin which had a lock. She did not tell her superiors why she had requested a lock on her cabin.
On the same naval vessel, a member of crew grabbed her from behind on a number of occasions and stuck his tongue in her ear.
On a different naval vessel, a non-commissioned officer (NCO) asked her what kind of underwear she was wearing and told her that a tampon would “block up the sewage area”. He would tell her repeatedly, “I’m off to wash my important places”.
The same NCO made similar comments to other female officers.
When asked why she hadn’t complained, she said: “I didn’t think I could. You don’t want to draw attention to yourself."
While she was studying in university as a naval cadet, she became pregnant. She said her superior officers were not happy about it.
“There was talk that they were going to charge me with conduct unbecoming for becoming pregnant,” she said.
Ms A admitted under cross-examination that nobody in authority had told her that becoming pregnant was conduct unbecoming. It was rumoured around the bases at the time.
She had hoped for a transfer to the Army or the Air Corps as it would be more family-friendly, but was advised not to make a complaint.
Ms A said she eventually bought her way out of the Naval Service for a large five-figure sum and needed financial assistance to do so.
She did not enjoy her time in the Naval Service and said she received counselling afterwards.
She told the tribunal that she felt bullied and isolated by other members of her cadet class and went to the officer overseeing her training.
She was emotional and started crying in front of him. He was initially sympathetic, but then told her that if she couldn’t handle the pressure, she was in the wrong job, “or words to that effect”. He also forbade her from going to her class officer.
The officer in question, who has since retired, denied any such conversation took place. Had it happened, he would have recommended that she go to the Personnel Support Service (PSS), which would deal with complaints like that “ruthlessly”, he told the tribunal.
He also said Ms A had stolen a pair of boots belonging to another member of her class. He opted not to report it as it was nearly the end of the cadetship. She denied ever stealing from anybody in the Naval Service.
Ms A said there was a “general feeling” among cadets that if they used the PSS, they would face repercussions and be deemed medically unfit for service.
