Charlie26 Story **TW**

Episode 7 — Charlie2-6 | She Served AU Podcast

Significant Trigger Warning:

This episode contains references to military sexual trauma, sexual assault, sexual violence, harassment, stalking, abuse of authority, victim-blaming, and institutional failure. The content is confronting and criminal in nature. If you are not in the right space to listen, please step away, take care of yourself, and return later — or not at all. Support services including Open Arms, Lifeline, and The Athena Project are listed in the show notes.

This episode is shared with full permission from Charlie26 aka C26

She has authorised Natasha Hilbers of She Served AU to tell her story in the hope that speaking out helps stop the harm. 

Her experiences reflect not only what can occur in service, but what continues long after discharge — and why silence protects the wrong people.

C26 served. What she endured was not misunderstanding or poor leadership. It was military sexual trauma and sexual violence embedded within command failure. She describes being deliberately isolated and subjected to predatory sexual behaviour by a superior. When reported, the conduct was minimized, reduced to administrative embarrassment rather than recognised as sexual misconduct. The behaviour did not meaningfully stop. Authority became the shield.

When she sought help, the chain of command declined to investigate. “Your word against his.” The uniform did not protect her. His did. The power imbalance remained intact.

She later experienced stalking on base after refusing a soldier’s advances. Civilian police laid charges. Defence response was minimal. Instead of asking why he stalked her, she was asked what she had done to attract the attention.

In another incident, she was stripped naked and tied to a roof antenna during a unit initiation. When reported, she was told she was lucky it wasn’t worse. That response captures the culture — comparison to greater harm, rather than protection.

The harm did not end when she left service. As a long-standing committee member of over eight years, C26 pursued legitimate funding and endorsement opportunities. Applications stalled. Support failed to materialise. Endorsements were withheld without transparency. The pattern reflected quiet obstruction — a form of post-service retribution that sends a clear message: speaking out has consequences.

The harm then entered her personal space. In July 2025, a public comment appeared on her social media: “Why didn’t she wear that on patrol?” The implication — that clothing could have prevented rape — reflects the enduring narrative that shifts responsibility back to the survivor. The uniform may have come off, but the culture followed.

C26’s story reflects abuse of rank and authority, sexual coercion and assault, institutional minimisation, victim blaming, stalking, retaliation, reputational obstruction, and failure of duty of care — both in service and out.

MST is not only the act. It is the silence. The refusal to investigate. The culture that protects perpetrators, questions survivors, and marginalises those who refuse to stay quiet.

C26 served her country. The system did not serve her.

This episode calls time on that reality. 

Enough. 

Stop the harm — in service and out. 

Transcript

Natasha Hilbers 0:13

Hello and welcome. I'm Natasha Hilbers and this is the She Served AU podcast, trigger warning. This is a space where we name MST, military sexual trauma, SV, sexual violence, and DV, domestic violence. If any of these topics are triggering for you, please take time, find space, come back when you're ready, or not at all. But if you do need help, please do reach out to the following organisations. The Open Arms from Department of Veteran Affairs, Lifeline, or the Amazing Anthena Project for Survivors. Their contact details are in the notes below.

Natasha Hilbers 0:52

Also, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional landowners on which I live and are recording today, the Nunga people of the Wandari Nation, and I respectfully acknowledge the traditional landowners past, present, and emerging. And I'd like to offer my respects by treading softly and listening deeply. So find a comfy spot, relax, and this is the She Served AU podcast, and I'm Natasha Hilbers.

Natasha Hilbers 1:25

Hello, I'm Natasha Hilbers of She Served AU. Today I'm here with permission to share Charlie26's story.

Natasha Hilbers 1:33

It is confronting, it is harrowing, and please take time and come back if you're not in the right space today to listen. This is a submission for Charlie26.

Natasha Hilbers 1:43

Charlie26 served, what she endured was not misconduct or misunderstanding, it was military sexual trauma and sexual violence embedded inside command failure.

Natasha Hilbers 1:54

Item one. He also ensured she reported to his office alone and would deliberately expose himself, masturbating in her presence. The matter would eventually result in a minor charge of him relieving himself of him. And after he was caught by the chain of command, a response that reduced the predatory conduct to administrative embarrassment rather than recognizing it as sexual misconduct. The behavior did not meaningfully stop, it became more insidious and taxing. This was coercion, this was abuse of authority, this was assault carried out under the cover of hierarchy.

Natasha Hilbers 2:50

Item two. When she reported it, she was met with refusal. The chain of command declined to investigate. This is your word against his. A uniform did not protect her. His did. The power imbalance was reinforced and not challenged.

Natasha Hilbers 3:08

Item three. A closeted gay peer eventually disclosed the scheme to her. Together they exposed the claim and the three thousand dollars and donating it to a local dog shelter, reclaiming the dignity in only the way they knew they could. But the harm had already been done. The humiliation was institutional.

Natasha Hilbers 3:46

Item four, stalking on base. Another soldier fixated on her after she declined to date and refused intimacy. Civilian police laid charges. Defense response was minimal. She was asked what she had done to attract this type of attention and why he was stalking her, but never why he was doing what he was doing.

Natasha Hilbers 4:06

Item five. She was stripped naked and tied to a roof antenna as part of a unit initiation. When she reported it, she was told she was lucky it wasn't worse. That statement alone captures the culture, not the outrage, not the protection, just comparison to greater harm.

Natasha Hilbers 4:26

Item six. Post-service obstruction and retaliation. The culture did not end with discharge. As a longstanding military organization committee member for over eight years, Charlie 26 sought grant and endorsement funding to progress legitimate initiatives. Not once was she successful, applications stalled, endorsements failed to materialize, support was withheld without transparent reasoning. The pattern suggests deliberate obstruction by perpetrators or aligned individuals, a form of control and retribution for speaking out. When funding endorsement and personal functioning are quietly blocked, the message is clear, silence is safer.

Natasha Hilbers 5:05

Item seven, post-service victim blaming in public spaces. It became even more personal in July 2025 on Charlie 26's social media. She received a comment, why didn't she wear that on patrol? A statement implying that what she wore could have prevented rape. The uniform may have come off, but the culture followed. The minimization followed, the reflex to question her clothing instead of condemning the violence followed. This is the enduring harm of MST, not only the assaults themselves, but the ongoing narrative that shifts responsibility back to the survivor.

Natasha Hilbers 5:37

Charlie's two six story reflects abusive rank and authority, sexual coercion and assault, , institutionalized minimization of victims, victim blaming, retaliation and reputational obstruction, failure of duty of care.

Natasha Hilbers 5:52

Military sexual trauma is not only the act, it's the aftermath.

Natasha Hilbers 5:56

I t is the silence, it is the refusal to investigate, it is the culture that protects perpetrators, questions survivors, and marginalizes those who refuse to stay quiet. Charlie 26 served her country. The system did not serve her.

Natasha Hilbers 6:09

Her story deserves to be heard, not softened, not sanitized, not reframed, but acknowledged in full, respectfully submitted.