Scores of serving members of the Australian Defence Force are allegedly part of a Facebook group which shares material promoting domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse of children.
The Victims of Abuse in the Australian Defence Force Association has undertaken an analysis of eight per cent of the 30,000 likes of the Facebook site SNAFU – Situation Normal All F***D uP-and identified 100 serving Australian defence personnel so far.
Some of the material shared on the site carries misogynistic messages or cartoons and memes promoting child sex abuse.
Scores of serving members of the Australian Defence Force are allegedly part of a Facebook group which shares material promoting domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse of children
‘There’s a picture of a poor girl naked, hanging from a rope and a rafter and the meme reads – if you rape them right you don’t have to kill them, they will kill themselves,’ association secretary Jennifer Jacomb told AAP.
‘It shows the ongoing culture of abuse is alive and well in the Australian Defence Force.’
Another meme reads: ‘The best part of a hooker dying on you?… the second hour is free.’
Ms Jacomb alerted Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan to the site in July.
The group represented a national security risk was been monitored by foreign nationals in China and Russia.
A Defence spokesman said the department did not endorse the SNAFU Facebook site.
Some of the material shared on the site carries misogynistic messages or cartoons and memes promoting child sex abuse.
‘The use of the Commonwealth logo on the SNAFU site is also not sanctioned by Defence,’ the spokesman said.
‘Defence has approached Facebook and requested the page be shut down for violating Facebook’s community standards.’
The defence force’s investigative service has been looking into the site to determine whether any serving members or Defence public servants have engaged in unlawful or inappropriate use of social media.
The Facebook site SNAFU was taken down on Monday afternoon (pictured: a crude image posted on the Facebook group)
‘Anyone found to have acted contrary to Defence policy will be held to account with disciplinary or administrative action being taken against them,’ the spokesman said.
‘Anyone found to be engaging in criminal behaviour on the site will be referred to the relevant authorities for further investigation.’
The Facebook site SNAFU was taken down on Monday afternoon.