That was an incredibly impactful article. I'm glad it was written and the only way for any type of unacceptable behaviour to stop is for more people to speak openly about their experiences without fear of reprisal. It takes an incredible amount of courage to speak up.
I personally wouldn't discourage anyone from joining CAF because they're concerned about things they've read and/or heard regarding sexual assault. There are a ton of pros and cons to the CAF environment in general and those vary greatly depending upon a large number of factors yet again. Unfortunately, there are morally-bankrupt people in all facets of life and CAF is no different. But for those reading from the outside, rest assured, there are a ton of good people here and they far out-number the bad.
As a sexual assault survivor (outside CAF), I was notably concerned about reports I'd read here and there regarding instances of sexual assault in the CAF before I joined. Going by the stats I'm aware of, we don't have the same level of instances as some other militaries, thankfully. (Granted, we have a much smaller military. It's important to weigh percentages against each other, rather than numbers in order to get a true picture of the level of severity.) Of course, those in the know can only go off of incidents that actually get reported.
While individual experiences will vary, I've seen and heard enough to know that there are certain areas and factors that seem to contribute more to episodes of varying levels of unwanted sexual behaviour towards another member, regardless of gender/sex, how they identify, rank, etc. than others. But as far as I'm concerned, it comes down to one issue and one only. CAF preaches integrity out the wazoo, but no one with an ounce of integrity treats another individual in that manner. It's always about power, domination, intimidation, selfishness, dehumanization, ego and/or any combination thereof. Unsurprisingly, this type of work attracts certain types of individuals and can also help cultivate a certain mindset. I personally don't know that CAF can substantially stomp out this behaviour altogether simply because of the nature of how CAF (and other organizations with similar styles of employment hierarchy) operates. So, as has been stated earlier, it's important that those who are in the position to do so not only support a member coming forward, but also be aware of how their own behaviour can be perceived and assist in disallowing their colleagues to act in such ways when they see it.