For Jane*, it was meant to be a celebratory night out.
Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing.
But instead, Jane said the evening out with her fellow Australian Defence Force (ADF) trainees led to her being sexually assaulted twice by someone she trusted.
On the first night, she said went out with several colleagues, and was assigned a “battle buddy” — a partner to ensure people were not by themselves on nights out.
She said she considered him a friend, and that she was on good terms with all her colleagues.
“I trusted him because he was kind,” she said.
“We had common interests.”
During the outing, Jane said she began to get “really sick”, and her battle buddy took her back to the hotel where the group was staying.
Jane said she had been told a room had been booked for her with four single beds, but upon arrival she realised there were two queen beds in the room.
She said the sleeping arrangements involved her sharing a bed with her battle buddy, but she trusted him because he was in a relationship.
Jane said it was while she was vomiting and fading in and out of consciousness that she was assaulted, but she cannot recall if she was raped.
“I do know that he was assaulting me and touching me in other ways that night,” she said.
The next evening, the group went out for dinner and a drink, before going back to the hotel.
Jane said she went to the dinner because her memories of the previous evening were hazy.
“I was not sure it was real … I did not remember absolutely everything until much later,” she said.
She said she went out for drinks again on that second night because she wanted the company of friends.
“I was a bit worried, being left alone for that weekend,” she said.
“I sort of wanted to keep the peace and not kick up a stink until I was back at base.”
Jane said her battle buddy got drunk, so some of the group walked back at the hotel, where she said she began to feel sick and hazy again.
She alleges she was attacked by her battle buddy in bed that night, and said she remembered parts of the incident clearly.
“I told him no, I told him to get off, to leave me alone … and at the same time I was vomiting into the little dust bin that the hotel has,” she said.
“When the initial penetration happened, I freaked out and was able to knock him off and go to the bathroom.”
She alleges her attacker cornered her in the bathroom, stroked her back and apologised.
Incident reported to chain of command, Victoria Police
When Jane visited medical workers at the ADF medical centre, she told a doctor about what allegedly happened to her.
The alleged incident was also reported to Jane’s chain of command.
She said she was concerned about reporting the incident.
“I told the doctor I was actually afraid of my career being affected by it,” she said.
Eventually, she told a nurse that she wanted to escalate the matter, and military police referred her to Victoria Police to make a complaint.
A complaint was made two days after the alleged rape.
Victoria Police has confirmed there is an ongoing investigation into the alleged assaults.
The ABC understands the ADF is fully cooperating with Victoria Police on the matter.
‘They just saw me as a problem’
In August 2023, Jane complained to the Directorate of Military Redress and Review, which allows Defence members to complain about an act relating to their service in the ADF.
The complaint concerned the lack of action from her chain of command, and a failure to protect her physical and emotional wellbeing after she complained she was raped.
“They just saw me as a problem child and wanted to get rid of me,” she said.
In February 2024, Jane’s complaint to the Directorate of Military Redress and Review was referred to the Directorate of Inquiries and Investigations for assessment.
That Directorate assists the Office of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) in undertaking inquiries and investigations into alleged failures of military justice in the ADF.
That complaint is now the subject of a full inquiry by the IGADF.
Jane said she had also been made to work in proximity to her alleged attacker after she had reported the incident to Defence and police.
“I was not afraid, but I felt violated and defeated,” she said.
“I did not want to look at him, but I knew I had to give a strong stance because I did not want to be victimised again.”
Correspondence seen by the ABC shows requests from the alleged victim to stand down the accused while the police investigation is underway.
In a statement, a Defence spokesperson said they could not elaborate further.
“There is an ongoing inquiry and Defence cannot provide further information at this time,” it said.
‘A culture of silence’
The culture with the ADF has been under the spotlight for years.
Military data published this month showed more than a third of female recruits reported sexual misconduct while attending the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra.
The research, first tabled in the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, showed almost 30 per cent of recruits who experienced unacceptable behaviour took no action, with many reporting it was “accepted around here”.
During a Senate Estimates hearing earlier this month, Defence Chief General Angus Campbell conceded women could be deterred from joining the military due to workplace culture.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Suicide, formed in 2021, has heard from several people who complained about the culture within ADF, including bullying and harassment.
In September last year, the Commission’s chair, Nick Kaldas, took the extraordinary step of speaking at the National Press Club and in media interviews before the inquiry was completed.
“We’ve made a conscious decision to speak out at the moment because we’re at a point where we feel that the issues we’ve uncovered have not been noticed, absorbed — people have not been that interested in them,” Mr Kaldas said.
He said cultural problems still existed within Defence, and rarely a week goes by that the inquiry isn’t alerted to the suicide of another serving or ex-serving member.
“All of this raises serious questions as to whether Defence is committed to making change in the best interests of its members, or whether they’re just going through the motions,” he said.
Jane said that one person told her to “expect” inappropriate behaviour “as part of the job”.
“I said ‘I do not think being raped is part of the job, mate’,” she said.
Jane said she had spoken to several women “from officers to recruits” who have had similar experiences with inappropriate behaviour.
She said she was actively discouraged from speaking out about her experience.
“[Defence] has a culture of silence,” she said.
“The amount of times I have been told to shut up about what happened, I am finding that it is completely common.”
‘I was going to take this as far as it needed to go’
Jane, who is still employed by the ADF, said she was still suffering physically and mentally from the alleged assaults and had developed post traumatic stress disorder.
Jane said she had also experienced suicidal thoughts and was undergoing therapy once a week.
“I was actually at the point where I wanted to end my life,” she said.
“I have lost my health, my mental health and my spiritual health.
“I have lost everything, so I was going to take this as far as it needed to go in order to get what I needed from it.”
She has also since made a formal complaint in relation to the handling of the incident to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
The complaint has been seen by the ABC and accuses the decision maker of not following discipline protocols.
“I reported being sexually assaulted by a colleague … I am fighting for my job because I reported the assault,” the complaint read.
That complaint has progressed to the next stage, though the Ombudsman said it was unable to disclose any details under the Ombudsman Act 1976.
*A pseudonym has been used to protect the individual’s identity.