Sexual misconduct in the British military
[1][2][3] Risk factors typical of military settings include the young age of personnel, the minority status of women, hierarchical power relationships, the predominance of traditionally masculine values and behaviours, and a heavy drinking culture.
[10][11][12][13][14] Prevalent harassment in the UK armed forces specifically has been associated with a culture that demeans women and other marginalised social groups,[15] and with senior leaders who engage in misconduct themselves or fail to challenge it in others.
[5][17] Traumatic sexual misconduct has been found to increase the risk of stress-related mental health problems including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
[38] After army Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement reported that she had been raped by two colleagues at her base in Germany in 2009, the coroner found that the bullying she received afterwards materially contributed to her decision to end her life two years later.
[39][40] As reported in The Guardian, the coroner concluded that the rape and the army's subsequent inaction had 'deeply and permanently affected' Ellement, and that the bullying she experienced afterwards was a factor in her decision to end her life.
[18] Research in the US found that when sexual abuse of female military personnel was psychiatrically traumatic, the odds of suffering from PTSD after deployment on operations increased by a factor of nine.
[41] US research also found that personnel affected by sexual harassment were somewhat less likely to develop depression or PTSD if a formal report led to effective action to address the issue.
The first systematic survey of sexual harassment in the British armed forces, in 2006, found that a male-dominated culture both sexualised women and undervalued their military competence.
The official surveys reveal that women of low rank, who also tend to be younger than other personnel and more recently recruited, are disproportionately targeted for harassment, particularly in the army.
[6][5] 22 new recruits at the training centre for the youngest soldier trainees, the Army Foundation College were victims of sexual offences that year;[6] three of the accused were members of staff.
During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, two Iraqi sailors working on a merchant ship were arrested and taken on board a Coalition warship and made to strip naked, after which they were sexually humiliated.
In a subsequent court case brought by Leigh Day against the Ministry of Defence, a judge noted that the nationality of the warship in question (i.e., whether it was British or American) was unable to be determined.
[1][2][3] Of the suspects in nine sexual offence cases affecting 22 junior recruits at the Army Foundation College in 2021,[6] three of the accused were members of staff.
[48] In 2016, the head of the army noted that soldier culture remained ‘overly sexualised’ and committed to reducing the extent of sexual misconduct.
[49] In 2017, the Lyons Review into the service justice system recommended referring all serious offences in the armed forces, including those of a sexual nature, to the civilian police,[50] a proposal the government rejected.
It recommended that responsibility for 'serious behavioural complaints' be transferred from the chain of command to a new 'Defence Authority', separate from the three military branches (i.e. army, air force, navy).
In 2021, the Commons Defence Committee added that while the military chain of command had determined to tackle the problem, senior officers were often part of it, noting evidence of'...senior individuals engaging in unacceptable behaviour themselves (including criminal sexual offences), failing to challenge these behaviours (for example, watching without commenting or breaching the confidentiality of those seeking advice) or interfering negatively in how a complaint is handled [...] The stories that we heard are truly shocking and they gravely concern us...
