It came out during a meeting between Silje Falmår and the Army today. In the meeting, Silje Falmår was presented with the conclusion after reviewing the notifications she had submitted. Supported by her lawyers, she met the management of Brigade Nord, and learned what came out of a review that has taken almost a year. – The main conclusion is that it has been found that on two specific occasions the Norwegian Armed Forces have not followed up the duty of care that the employer has towards a whistleblower, says her lawyer Bernt Heiberg to news shortly after the meeting. Together with his lawyers, Silje Falmår went into a meeting with the leadership of Brigade Nord in one of the Defense Forces’ buildings in Oslo. Photo: Siri Vålberg Saugstad / news Falmår had reported bullying, harassment, unwanted sexual attention and abuse to the Armed Forces a number of times. She had also spoken about errors in the handling, and what she believed was retaliation from military staff after she spoke about the way they handled the case. The army concluded today that they believe there was no such retaliation. Among other reasons, Silje Falmår herself is disappointed with the result. – I am not satisfied with the result. – How are you right now? – I’m having a hard time. It is difficult now, says a disappointed Falmår to news. Errors related to follow-up after abuse In February, news told her story from her initial service in the Armed Forces. She told about how she had experienced bullying, harassment, unwanted sexual attention and abuse during her time in the first service. Eventually, Silje Falmår experienced that the sexual harassment developed into a physical one. – There were several incidents where I was touched, patted on the ass. It was a fellow soldier who put his hand through my sweater and on my tits, and I also experienced touching my genitals, Silje Falmår told in a major report on news.no and in Dagsrevyen. She could tell that it went so far that she experienced being raped by a male fellow soldier. This rape was never reported to the civilian police – although Silje Falmår told both her military leaders and the military police about it. The soldier who is linked to the reported rape has previously told news that he does not recognize the allegations of rape and sexual harassment. Now the Army’s notification group has concluded that the Armed Forces failed in its duty of care as an employer in the follow-up related to abuse, according to her lawyer. – It is in the situation where a specific sexual assault was reported. They conclude that they did not follow up Silje well enough in the situation after that, says Silje Falmår’s lawyer Bernt Heiberg. Bernt Heiberg is assisting Silje Falmår as a lawyer in the case where she has notified a number of matters from her time in the primary service. Photo: Siri Vålberg Saugstad / news/Siri Vålberg Saugstad According to the lawyer, errors have also been concluded in the follow-up of Silje Falmår related to how she had to live alone in a room with a male soldier. Silje Falmår lived alone for a long time in a room with several male soldiers. Falmår has said that even though she spoke up about sexual harassment and abuse, she had to continue living alone in a room with one male soldier when she extended her initial service. – It has been concluded that the employer’s duty of care has not been sufficiently fulfilled in connection with the case where Silje was placed alone with a male soldier in a room, says Falmår’s lawyer Bernt Heiberg today, after the answers from the Army’s notification group have arrived. news has asked for an interview with the Army about the conclusion after the notification review, and asked a number of questions. The army does not want to be interviewed, and points out that the report is confidential. In an e-mail, they do not answer news’s questions beyond this short statement: – Overall, the report says that both duty of care and duty of care are taken care of in relation to whistleblowers, except on two points. The Army must follow up on these, writes Lieutenant Colonel and Head of Communications in the Army Erling Nervik. The communications manager states that the Norwegian Armed Forces have used external assistance from the law firm Haavind to create the comprehensive report. Silje Falmår has told that she experienced several cases of harassment – both verbal and physical. Among other things, she has told how a fellow soldier tried to kiss her while she was sleeping. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / news Warning of bad handling and retaliation Silje Falmår chose to come forward with her story, in the hope that no one else will have to experience the same as she did. Silje Falmår (22) chose to report both on her own behalf and on behalf of others about what she believes was bullying, sexual harassment and abuse. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / news She herself had had experiences in the service which she perceived as retaliation. This happened after she spoke about harassment and alerted the employees and their failure to handle the harassment. According to Falmår, she was banned and left alone a lot after she reported it. The notification from Falmår about the handling by the military leaders has been under consideration in the Army since April last year. When the results of the processing of the notice were presented today, they concluded that there had been no retaliation: – The investigation group believes that there is no retaliation against Silje, says her lawyer Bernt Heiberg. Falmår notified the Norwegian Armed Forces a number of times. Photo: Frode Fjerdingstad / news He and his colleagues will now go into the material and assess what they and Silje Falmår will do. Falmår did not get the report with conclusions. They were only allowed to read the document, and the lawyers will now apply for access to the material. Heiberg is critical of how the Army and the notification group there have viewed what Silje Falmår has been exposed to. – During Silje’s implementation of the initial service, it was not possible to see the situation in context, but only focused on individual incidents. In our view, the report is a continuation of the same problem. You see individual statements and individual incidents without seeing the facts in their entirety, says Heiberg to news. The Chief of Defense has said: – My heart aches In news’s previous cases about how Silje Falmår experienced the first service, the Defense has confirmed that there were incidents. At the same time, they have emphasized that they were caught all together. – All oral and written notifications I have been informed about have been handled in accordance with the routines we have for handling notifications and notification cases in the Armed Forces, said battalion commander Nina-Sofie Berg in the Armed Forces Battalion in an interview with news. The battalion commander did not agree that it was uncultured, or that it was not safe for young women in the Army and her department. During Debatten’s broadcast about harassment and whistle-blowing in the Norwegian Armed Forces, Silje Falmår met Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen. Chief of Defense Kristoffersen was then asked if he would comment that Falmår had been frozen out, banned and left alone. – It is completely unacceptable and it should not happen, and I apologize for what Silje has experienced, said Kristoffersen and continued: – I get angry, I get disappointed. It hurts my heart because we need every single soldier we call up for the first duty and we need women more than ever. Hello! Do you have any input for us? Do you know of other matters in the Armed Forces that news should look at? Or do you know more about this case? Feel free to contact us by e-mail if you have input. You can also send us input, tips and information encrypted and secure via news’s extra secure notification reception – see how to submit via news’s SecureDrop here. news’s journalists have previously made several cases about conditions in the Armed Forces – among other things about whistle-blowing, about the senior sergeant who was tried to be pressured to lie to the police, the helicopter squadron commander who was tried to be pressured out of his job, the women who told about sexual harassment from a colonel, the lieutenant colonel who said that she was asked to write about reports, about trampling by Norwegian officers on UN missions in South Sudan and about Silje Falmår who told about bullying, harassment and abuse during his initial service. We are always interested in new information that enables us to shine a spotlight on the defense sector. So just get in touch with us. Marit Higraff, Tormod Strand, Christine Svendsen, Øyvind Bye SkilleJournalists at NRKSend me an e-mail
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The defense admits mistakes in following up on Silje after an abuse report – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
