Official MoD survey also finds nearly one in 10 have been subject to non-consensual sexual activity, and a third have been groped or touched
Nearly one in 10 women serving in the British military have been subjected to an assault or other non-consensual sexual activity in the previous year, according to the first official survey of sexual harassment across the armed forces.
A third said they had been groped or touched in a way that made them feel uncomfortable, according to the Ministry of Defence, and two-thirds reported at least one form of sexual harassment or sexualised behaviour, proportions significantly higher than their male counterparts across the army, navy and air force.
Louise Sandher-Jones, minister for people at the Ministry of Defence, said the results were “wholly unacceptable” and would act as a “baseline to fully confront and address the root causes of this issue”.
Specialist teams will now be deployed at the army training garrison in Catterick, North Yorkshire, and at the Plymouth naval base to tackle the unacceptable sexual behaviours highlighted. Similar intervention schemes are planned for other military locations, including at the Akrotiri base in Cyprus, from next year.
