Foreign Correspondent: Aug 5

Tonight Foreign Correspondent’s Eric Campbell travels north to examine a gender experiment in Norway’s army, where men and women train together.

On a remote but vitally important frontier, a ground-breaking experiment is underway aimed at erasing the gender divide in the armed forces, eliminating intimidation and abuse and encouraging more and more women into service. On Norway’s border with Russia – more tense now NATO and Russia are sharply at odds over Ukraine – men and women are training together, patrolling together and sleeping together in a counter-intuitive effort to build a unisex force in which women are just as likely to command men in the barracks and on the battleground. Many nations are taking a close interest in this radical program, including Australia.

When the young women of the Norwegian Border Guard turn in after a long day patrolling along a stretch of their nation’s northern border with Russia, chances are there will be men in the room.

They’re the fellow soldiers they’ve been working with, training with and sometimes ordering around in the field. Despite the seamless sleeping arrangements, the conflicting habits of males and females, it all seems to work. Harassment and sexual assault, already comparative low in Norway’s armed forces, is on the wane.

Led by a formidable front-line of women, including Prime Minister Erna Solberg and her predominantly female cabinet which includes Defence Minister Ine Eriksen, Norway is leading the charge to an inclusive, cohesive unisex defence force. They want the armed services to become as progressive and gender-blind as the top echelons of government.

As technology and sophisticated communications strategies change the way military campaign are conducted, Norway has concluded that women inherently possess skills and qualities that are vital to the defence program. But in order for military leaders to bolster female numbers, they need to ensure women feel safe among their male colleagues and that they have a clear path to succeed in the service.

Colonel Ingrid Gjerde is one woman who’s become a compelling role model. She rose to command all of Norway’s forces in Afghanistan.

Following a spate of sexual and harassment scandals in the Australian Defence Force, a concerted campaign is underway to change culture and combat the problem. Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner is heavily involved in that effort and she’s watching the program in Norway closely.

Tuesday, 5 August at 8pm on ABC.