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The Australian Defence Force Academy Skype Sex Scandal: Understanding the Implications of Containment

Armed Forces & Society

Published online on

Abstract

In 2011, the Australian Defence Force Academy became embroiled in a sex scandal when a cadet made public, claims of abuse. Her claims led to a number of inquiries, which unveiled many other historical abuse claims. As such, this case revealed some of the potential problems associated with the containment of such disputes. To explore this further, a brief review of workplace changes (1930–present) was conducted, which highlighted the development of current containment measures. This was followed by a two-pronged case analysis of the 2011 Australian Defence Force Academy Skype sex scandal. Boltanski’s process theory was used in conjunction with Bourdieu’s field theory to study the containment of the case. Combined, these analyses revealed that, while a focus on the central players and their relations as psychologized/personal is a main strategy for containment, this approach can deflect attention from other factors that play important roles, resulting in more significant, far-reaching problems.