Earlier this summer, several women stood up and told news about warnings they had sent in about sexual harassment in the Armed Forces. Lieutenant Caroline shared her story because she hopes it can help the Armed Forces treat whistleblowers better. She is critical of the fact that she has received little information from the Armed Forces about the notification case. – There is no zero tolerance if we just turn another way, Caroline told news. – Internal enemy The Defense leadership describes bullying and sexual harassment in the Armed Forces as an “internal enemy” that weakens the fighting ability in a turbulent time with Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The management has stated that there is zero tolerance for bullying and sexual harassment in the Armed Forces. REQUESTS INFORMATION: Caroline wants to tell her story because she hopes it can help the Armed Forces treat whistleblowers better. She is critical of the fact that she has received little information from the Armed Forces about the notification case. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / news But that makes Lieutenant Caroline very questionable. She now serves as troop commander in His Majesty the King’s Guard. She alerted when she was working in another battalion. Will meet Caroline Now Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen will meet the women who have come forward. – How are you going to get Caroline to believe you when it comes to the declaration of zero tolerance for bullying and sexual harassment in the military? – Caroline must answer for that, if she believes in me, says Kristoffersen. He emphasizes that he himself will be “very open” about what the Armed Forces does and does not do. DARKNESS NUMBERS: Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen will not guarantee that the investigation of the warning system in the Armed Forces will reveal all dark numbers when it comes to bullying and sexual harassment. Photo: Eirik Ramberg / news – I also get to ask Caroline when I meet her once about how she thinks this has been handled. The Chief of Defense has not yet scheduled a meeting with Caroline. But he emphasizes that he wants to talk to several of the women who have come forward. – A good initiative When news tells Caroline that the Chief of Defense would like to meet her, she is positive. – Yes, absolutely, of course. This is a good initiative, she says. POSITIVE: Caroline thinks it is a good initiative by the Chief of Defense to invite to a meeting about the Armed Forces’ warning system. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / news Caroline says that in the meeting with the top of the defense, it becomes important to convey two messages in particular: – That action before words is important. And that you as a whistleblower benefit from being taken care of in a far better way than I have felt taken care of when it comes to the whistleblowing system, she says. – Crisis for me Kristoffersen describes what the warnings reveal about bullying and sexual harassment as a “crisis”, both for the Armed Forces and himself. He points out that he has initiated a number of measures to improve the notification routines. – But if it is not perceived that it is enough or that it is not sufficient, or that trust has not been restored to the notification system, then the problem will persist, he says. – Therefore, this is also a crisis for me because I am completely dependent on people trusting me in the same way that I am dependent on being able to trust them, says Kristoffersen. CRISIS: Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen describes the warnings about bullying and sexual harassment as “a crisis”, both for the Armed Forces and himself. Photo: Eirik Ramberg / news No guarantee – Can you guarantee that this investigation will be good enough, so that you get the dark numbers, and make the conditions for reporting sexual harassment easier? – I do not want to guarantee anything, because this is not something you can go around and control. But I want to make it possible for both information on how the individual notification case stands for those who have notified, and we have already taken action on this, says the Chief of Defense. Kristoffersen points out that there will always be dark numbers in all organizations. – But we have to work hard to get transparency and that is the only way to overcome this, he says. Weakened reputation – You have said that this weakens the Armed Forces’ reputation. As Chief of Defense, are you taking responsibility for this crisis? – Yes, it is my responsibility to clean up this, it is obvious. It is the chief of defense’s ultimate responsibility to fix this, he says. Kristoffersen emphasizes that reputation building is not an end in itself. – The reputation is a result of what we do and what we do not do, so the reputation is as deserved. The main goal is to have order in your own home, says Eirik Kristoffersen.
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Will meet the whistleblowers – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
