Statistics showing a sharp rise in complaints were published Tuesday by The Australian newspaper which cited a confidential internal report obtained through freedom of information legislation.

The paper said the report revealed the total number of sexual harassment complaints inside the ADF, including the army, navy and airforce, doubled in 2003 to 122.

Of those, 51 were complaints by men against other men, compared with 12 claims of homosexual harassment in 2002.

One of the biggest rises documented in the report was the number of male sexual assaults against women in the navy, which numbered 27 in the year ended June 2003.

Of the 62 complaints of sexual assault made in 2003, only seven resulted in formal action being taken.

Defence force spokesman Brigadier Mike Hannan said the increase in numbers was more a reflection of incidents being reported than an actual increase in offences.

"The figures are accurate but what the figures represent is our effort at educational and cultural change," Hannan told public radio.

"People now are much more willing to complain and the matters they complain about have changed over time.

"What you're seeing is an organisation which is very open and very aggressive in the way it's going about combating harassment and discrimination and that's what being reflected in the numbers."

The report questioned the ADF's response to complaints, saying "there is still a significant number of sexual offence complaints where management inaction or uncertainty has significantly drawn out the legnth of the case".

It said many complainants dropped their action because of the stress involved in the process.

Hannan said the feedback suggested the chain of command was effective and supportive in the way it dealt with complaints.

The ADF is already under fire over its knowledge of alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US troops and evidence is mounting of widespread drug and alcohol abuse at its Australian bases. Six soldiers also admitted last month charges of torturing to death a litter of kittens, causing outrage throughout the country.

A series of rape allegations aboard HMAS Swan in the early 1990s sparked a re-think among the ranks and the ADF has since embarked on an education and awareness campaign.

A now retired naval trainee, Joanne Wyte, herself a victim of rape in the military when a teenager, said the increase in reports of sexual assault was a good thing.

"It shows people are able to speak out about sexual harassment...now it is not such a taboo topic," Wyte told the newspaper.

But a lawyer who has represented many military personnel in such cases said while there was a greater willingness to report sexual harassment or assault, the incidence of such offences continued to climb.

"I think the prevalence is still there given the on-going complaints that I get," Greg Isolani told public radio.

"What does surprise me though is how things are being investigated. All the same complaints continue to come up in terms of failing to properly investigate or the amount of time taken to investigate."

He said he believed that while the education campaign may have cut the incidence of harassment, physical assault was still a problem.

WAR.WIRE