Prior to the introduction of Operation HONOUR in 2015, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) did not have a dedicated central database in which to record all cases of sexual misconduct. FRAGO 001 to the Chief of Defence Staff Operation Order for Operation HONOUR (dated 18 March 2016) directed that, starting on 1 April 2016, all Level 1 organizations report incidents of sexual misconduct to the CAF Strategic Response Team on Sexual Misconduct (CSRT-SM) (now called the Directorate Professional Military Conduct - Operation HONOUR [DPMC-OpH]) for coalition in a master database.
In January 2018, the Operation HONOUR Tracking and Analysis System (OPHTAS) was created for use by the chain of command as a dedicated means of recording, tracking and conducting trend analysis of incidents of sexual misconduct. The system reached its initial operating capability in October 2018, and is anticipated to reach full operating capability in December 2019.
OPHTAS is designed to record and track incidents of sexual misconduct reported to the chain of command. Any incident reported to the chain of command on or after 1 April 2016 can be reported in OPHTAS, regardless of when it occurred. Prior to 1 April 2019, OPHTAS was only used to record incidents that involved at least one CAF member as a complainant or respondent. Effective 1 April 2019, incidents of sexual misconduct involving only DND civilians could also be recorded.
OPHTAS only records incidents reported by or to the chain of command. Incidents may not be reported to the chain of command for a variety of reasons, such as when an affected person discloses an incident to the Sexual Misconduct Response Centre (SMRC) and requests that no formal report or investigation be initiated. The chain of command may also not receive a report when an affected person seeks care from either the Canadian Forces Health Services or a civilian health care provider, both of which will respect patient confidentiality.
This report includes all available OPHTAS data recorded since 1 April 2016 and is reported by fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). Some datasets are incomplete for a variety of reasons, for example details may not have been disclosed or known at the time, or the data has yet to be entered. OPHTAS is continuously audited and updated to ensure that data is as complete as possible. In addition, it is important to note that incidents can be reported at any time. As a result, the data in this report may be different from data in previous reports. Because of the dynamic nature of OPHTAS data, the date that the data was accessed for this report is included in all figures and tables.
This report was developed to provide the CAF with a snapshot of the data currently available in OPHTAS and some key observations. Further analysis of the data will be conducted to inform and focus our efforts to address sexual misconduct.
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Source: Government Of Canada