Sexual abuse in the military: Soldiers speak of systemic problems in a 'toxic culture'

W5 investigates sexual misconduct in the military, and interviews Canadian soldiers who claim they were sexually abused while serving their country. Watch 'Military Secrets' Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV.

At a recent press conference Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “I think the reality is that there is a systemic problem with the treatment of women, the treatment of sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces. It is clear that there is a toxic culture.” A culture that has persisted for decades.

To date, the number of women coming forward have far outweighed men, but now more men are speaking up and telling their stories of sexual assault, rape and harassment.

Colten Skibinsky has been vocal about a sexual assault he says he suffered while serving in the military. And since coming forward he has encouraged many more men to speak up. In an interview with W5, Colten says “what I'm finding with a lot of these men is they want to connect to another man who's been through what they've been through. And it's a sense of validation.”

Colten was just 24 years old when he says he was sexually assaulted in a shower while serving on a Canadian Forces Base in Ontario. Following what he thought was simply a disagreement with a fellow soldier, tensions flared and he was threaten with rape. Colten thought it was a joke until he was cornered in a shower stall. Colten says he started fighting for his life as one man began to beat him and the other was “masturbating.” Colten went into shock. “I just froze” and “could not believe what was happening to me,” he said.