At the end of October, the army released an edifying report in which the majority of its soldiers claimed to have been victims of harassment or verbal or physical violence. A culture that has always been established within the troop, which the army wants to combat at all costs. RTS met one of these victims.
A few weeks ago, a study revealed that more than 80% of soldiers have experienced so-called “sexualized” behavior or violence. RTS found a young woman who was the victim of these actions. She testifies anonymously so as not to be formally recognized by the military justice system, which is handling her case.
>> Reread: Discrimination and sexualized violence are common within the Swiss army
“We were often told that we were not whores, that we were not ‘pussy’, that we were not fags… And that we were really assholes, that We were shit. There were headbutts too.”
When we denounced, it never went higher, it never went as far as the general staff. And then it even fell on us
These are the kind of comments that Thomas Süssli, the head of the army, feared when he presented his report a few weeks ago. “The results of this study stunned me. There is no room for sexist and ambiguous jokes, there is no room for anything that makes our soldiers feel their integrity undermined as part of their service”, he assured then.
Forced to leave the army
The victim met by RTS, however, felt abandoned to his fate. “I imagined that it wasn’t going to be easy, it’s not Club Med. But to hear such comments, frankly, I didn’t expect it. At least not to serve my country When we denounced it, it never went higher, it never went as far as the general staff, and then it even fell back on us, to the point that I felt in danger. I had to leave the army.”
The military authority did not want to comment on this particular testimony. “The army command has decided to adopt complementary measures to the Diversity Strategy by strengthening the protection of soldiers and accelerating the cultural change initiated within the army,” she told RTS .
TV subject: Thierry Clémence
Version web: Antoine Schaub
Swiss
