Accountability

Accountability is an essential principle of democratic good governance. Yet, it is hard to find a simple definition of the term; we have ideas of what it should look like, but not of what it is.

“Accountability has to do with appropriateness of actions and adherence to obligations.” This definition, brought forward by Dorothea Greiling and Arie Halamachi, is an interesting one. 

Let’s pay attention to the idea of “adherence to obligations.” As the Center for Women’s Global Leadership has rightfully pointed out, governments have not lived up to their commitments when it comes to gender-based violence. 

And we do not need to go too far to find evidence. Just having a look at the blog posts Servicewomen’s Salute published during last year’s 16 Days Campaign is enough to make a list. 

First, the International Labour Organization Convention 190 (ILO C-190) and Recommendation 206, which calls for “all actors in the world of work [to refrain from, prevent and address violence and harassment,” was signed in June 2019. Despite a commitment to the Women, Peace, Security agenda, the conceptualization of a feminist foreign policy, and national action plans to improve gender equality at home and abroad, Canada has yet to ratify this convention. This lack of action in the enshrinement of a convention that could put in place additional protection for those who experience gender-based violence at work stands against Canada’s image as an advocate for the rules-based international order, the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, and gender equality. 

Second to come to mind is Operation Honour, the “campaign plan” put in place by the Canadian Armed Forces in 2015 to “eradicate all forms of sexual misconduct.” While Dr. English will explore the latest development in the implementation of this plan, recent news have shown that the Canadian Armed Forces efforts continue to fall short. In October 2020, a Statistics Canada study found that 68% of surveyed cadets at the Canadian military colleges experienced sexual jokes and comments, or misplaced discussions about sexuality; 40% of them witnessed or experienced discrimination based on expectations surrounding masculinity. A CBC article alleges that the CAF chain of command dismisses those who report sexual misconduct, with some accusing their superiors of threatening them for coming forward. From those recent reports, and reminiscing Dr. English’s post from last year, it is clear that the Canadian military still has a lot of work to do, five years after the launch Operation Honour, a campaign that was supposed to last 22 months. 

Those are only two examples, and throughout this campaign we will work on showing the areas in which accountability has been lacking. Clearly, leaders have not adhered to their obligations. Such a lack of action sends a powerful message: it puts gender-based violence on the backburner, hence perpetuating gender-based violence as a norm. 

So, here is the goal of Servicewomen’s Salute blog for this year: raising awareness on gender-based violence by sharing stories of those who have experienced it, sharing resources, celebrating the national days that will mark this campaign, and shining a light on the shortcomings of our leaders.  

Obtaining accountability requires constant and relentless effort. This 16 Days Campaign blog series is just playing a small role in this worldwide movement towards full “adherence to obligations.” The power is in your hand to make our contribution something bigger, and we’ll help.