Although Canadian Forces have policy on abuse and family violence, and some think that this policy embraces zero tolerance, there is no policy that states this explicitly. Above all other principles, it appears that military unit cohesion is extremely important to keeping up morale to prepare the military members for deployment or isolated postings. A military member with a black mark on his file such as a criminal conviction is no longer considered promotable. Thus secrecy and group protection from reporting abuse plays a major role in keeping abuse situations off records of members. There is often complicity with each other when military members and their wives know of a woman being abused but do not report.
Any negative issues reflect badly on unit commanders and the unit itself.
Military doctors and social workers are expected to report abuse up the chain of command, but the ethics of their professions puts them in a conflict of interest position. They cannot act as an advocate for their patient or client as they are also employed by the Canadian Forces. Blaming the victim is intrinsic in this approach. The Canadian Forces are beginning to recognize that family support should play a role in military life. Therefore, there have been Family Resource Centres emerging across the country.