Female Canadian Mountie makes sexual harassment claim
Emine Dilek
WVoN co-editor
Corporal Catherine Galliford, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is suing her employer for over 16 years of “persistent and ongoing” sexual harassment and bullying.
In a 26-page statement obtained by CBC news, Galliford alleges that several male officers sexually harassed her during her tenure, starting with her training in 1991.
Her boss RCMP Inspector Mike Bergerman, Staff Sergeant Doug Henderson and Phil Little, a Vancouver police officer she worked with on the Missing Women Task Force (see WVoN coverage), are among the people she has accused.
She alleges that, at various times and places, the men made sexually suggestive comments, made sexual advances, exposed themselves, forced her to kiss them and sexually attacked her in a hotel room.
The document reveals that “the culture of sexual harassment within the RCMP is so pervasive that Galliford was helpless to personally stop it, she had to accept a certain level of tolerance of [sexual harassment] as complaining about it would only make matters worse.”
As a result of the harassment, Galliford developed a severe form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which resulted in agoraphobia, nightmares, alcohol dependency and significant weight loss.
Galliford is also suing RCMP doctor Ian MacDonald for disclosing confidential information to her estranged husband and failing to properly diagnose and treat her psychological problems.
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Craig Callens, issued a statement on Wednesday night, saying that Galliford’s allegations remain unproven and officers had been assigned to investigate them.
Galliford is not the first Mountie to bring allegations of sexual harassment. Krista Carle, a former RCMP constable, brought a claim alleging constant sexual harassment during the 20 years she was on the force.
Along with four other officers, she claimed she had been sexually assaulted by a sergeant in the 1990s. They sued the RCMP, and the case was settled out of court.
She spoke out in support of Galliford last year, saying that she was “disgusted and disappointed” at the way the RCMP was handling her claims.