General

RCMP slapped with second lawsuit

Const. Karen Katz has launched a second lawsuit against the RCMP this morning. The former officer is taking the force to court over allegations of sexual harassment and humiliation dating back to the late 1980s.

The RCMP is facing a barrage of sexual harassment allegations from current and former female officers, including a class-action lawsuit that could include up to 150 women. Tales of the harassment and humiliation of female officers on the force became widespread in late 2011 after one of B.C.’s highest profile Mounties, Cpl. Catherine Galliford, told the CBC that she’s suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after years of sexual harassment.

In a statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Const. Karen Katz alleges that since she began basic training in 1989, she has been subjected to “offensive, humiliating and demeaning comments,” including public mockery of her body and invitations to perform oral sex on male colleagues. Katz, the author of four books on the dangers of biker culture, said she has been demonized, and declared a security risk by the RCMP due to her extensive research on the gangs. She has claimed that she now suffers from a variety of health disorders, including post-traumatic stress, bulimia and severe abdominal pain because of the continual harassment and abuse.

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