The B.D.F.’s Allegations Report – a Closer Look!
Last week, we told you that the Ministry of National Security had concluded the investigation into the allegations of misconduct within the Belize Defense Force. The release admitted to some wrongdoing and negligence by personnel in the units involved, but didn’t provide any details into the investigation. That report has now been shared publicly and tonight, we tell you what it says. Here’s the story.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
The B.D.F.’s Report into the allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, extortion and maltreatment at the B.D.F’s Training School is an eleven page document. It is dated March fifth, 2020, and concludes that no criminal offences were discovered during the investigation. “After conducting all interviews with all the recruits, only one incident qualified as inappropriate behaviour by one of the instructors who was removed immediately. In this regard, there was no other information uncovered during the investigation which can be construed as a form of sexual harassment or sexual assault within the Training Company.” The report, was preceded by a press release which white-washed the allegations – only to say that persons responsible for misconduct would be dealt with internally as per the B.D.F.’s Defence Act. Retired B.D.F. Captain Derricia Castillo shares her initial reaction to this report, saying it appears to be a missed opportunity to make meaningful change to dismantle the institutional rape culture that has plagued the B.D.F.
Derricia Castillo
Derricia Castillo, Retired B.D.F. Captain
“Something that didn’t lead to any tangible solutions in regards to the allegations that were made. It didn’t provide any way forward in regards to what the B.D.F. could be doing. I say that because although the report itself didn’t uncover any sexual assault case to be tried criminally – it could have been a case where the sexual assault allegations were out and the entities who were in charge of that investigation were more than capable of coming up with much better recommendations even if it was just on a point of how the culture of these allegations come out and how the culture of these allegations were dealt with by the B.D.F.”
Now to the report; it says that one hundred recruits of intake number sixty-five were interviewed. These interviews were conducted with the help of C.I.B. Forty-five of those recruits reportedly had no complaints of issues encountered or experienced. On the matter of money solicited for a party in relation to extortion allegation, several of the recruits only complained that the charge was too high. One recruit reported that an instructor was drunk; while another reported verbal abuse. One female recruit reported that one Corporal would enter their dorm at night; action taken according to the report is that he was removed from the training unit. Nine recruits reported several instances of physical abuse experienced at the hands of multiple B.D.F. officers. Two recruits reported that they were extorted by paying money to the medic for a clean drug test. One female recruit reported an inappropriate incident with a corporal.
Derricia Castillo
“Action! I believe action is missing from the report. The report stated a lot of obvious things. I stressed the fact that the minor infractions were what were delved into the most and I feel that the action that B.D.F. could take or can take to fix this was missing from that report. And again I am sure that they are going to review it and say that this was a criminal investigation but the minute an entity such as the National Women’s Commission is on that investigating team, that report should have had more substance about how the B.D.F. can fix about what has spread about the culture and the nature of the B.D.F., especially with regards to the women.”
The allegations, as we’ve reported back in January came from several sources in the B.D.F. who have knowledge of complaints and reports made. When the allegations first surfaced, senior members of the B.D.F. described the findings as “disgusting and unacceptable” – they expressed remorse about what was happening at the B.D.F., as a deeply rooted problem that must be stopped, with specific references to sexual related offences. This report makes mention of having access to written sixty-five complaints – but there’s no further information about the nature of these sixty-five complaints. But Salazar believes that the way the investigation was carried out and the reasons why are problematic – and could be responsible for the tepid report.
Derricia Castillo
“The actual fact of keeping them on barracks until the investigation was done could be seen as an intimidation tactic to be able to say, ok, you guys want this done and over with, let’s get that information out so that this can be finished and let’s close the chapter of these allegations. And within that time there was limited to no psychosocial support for any of the victims who alleged that something was done to them. Again, we look at social media. The victim blaming that is put out there and the comments. If I am a recruit and this is my first job, if I am supposed to make it within this system why would I make my bed hard in the beginning? As a rape or sexual assault victim, that is how we have to look at it now as women because we are going to be blamed. So, by having the recruits confined or restricted to barracks until the report is completed there is a lot of influence that could have been done to actually steer this investigation in the direction that they wanted it to go.”
Hipolito Novelo
“The decision to conduct the investigation was due to allegations disseminated via social media and causing embarrassment – what do you think about that?”
Derricia Castillo
“It’s true. I think that was one of the most truthful or genuine statement in that report, particularly because they think it was giving the B.D.F. a black eye. So, it was done and by the report it was produced, it shows that it was just something to calm the storm for a second and that is what they did. They need to realize that the Belizean people we are following up the case. It is our brothers; sisters; cousins; and if they are harmed in their work environment it comes back to us. So, it was a smoke show to say keep the Belizean public quiet and to say hey we are doing something.”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
