Australia military abuse may lead to payouts

[Gerald]

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith has said compensation might have to be paid to victims of bullying and sexual abuse in the country's military.

The defence minister has set up a string of inquiries into the issue.

He says some of the claims against his department date back to the Vietnam War.

The country's military has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent months raising concerns about a culture of sexism, homophobia and bullying.

One such incident involved a page set up on Facebook vilifying allegedly gay members of the defences forces.

'Phenomenal costs'

Another which emerged earlier this month, known as the Skype scandal, involved a female cadet at the defence academy in Canberra.

The 18-year-old had consensual sex with a fellow cadet, which was secretly filmed and broadcast via webcam to a group of men in another room.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13109078


Note: 17 April 2011 Last updated at 11:17 GMT