Almost two-thirds of the female staff in the UK military reported bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment while serving in the force, as revealed by a parliamentary report on Sunday.
The UK defense subcommittee described its investigation of the treatment of female military staff as "one of the most important" inquiries in its history. The report noted that about 62% of respondents revealed they had experienced some form of bullying, discrimination, or harassment while serving in the force.
Bullying, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment
The report included the testimony of more than 4,100 women in the military, including staff and veterans. The reports were given as confidential public evidence and included gang rape, sexual assault by drugs, sexual exploitation of under-18s, and "trophies" or contests to "bag the women" on camp or on ships.
Some of the victims also said they were bullied for refusing sexual advances from co-workers and were only able to observe as their friends were attacked by men because they were "too afraid to report it."
In a statement, Sarah Atherton, chair of the subcommittee on women in the Armed Forces, said that despite the military coming a long way in recent years, the current situation is still proof that the world is a man's world, CNN reported. Atherton added that the current Complaints system left victims hesitant to report their experiences.
The complaints system and military court system denied justice to women who are victims of serious sexual offenses. Most of the victims said that the military did not do enough to address the problem and the alleged crimes.
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Atherton noted that the fact that conviction rates in military courts were four to six times lower than civilian courts was not right.
The report was also the first time that the Ministry of Defense lifted the restriction of not allowing military personnel to partake in the agency's inquiries. The report also urged authorities to hand over cases of rape and sexual assault from military courts to civilian courts. It called for the creation of a new defense authority independent from the chain of command to investigate the accusations of bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment, Military reported.
What Was Achieved?
The incident came after the head of British armed forces said the UK military was not defeated in Afghanistan. The statement as the nation ordered the withdrawal of most of its soldiers in the war-torn country.
Chief of Defense Staff General Sir Nick Carter said the terrorist attacks such as 9/11 were prevented from occurring in Afghanistan during the time the military was stationed there. The military official said he continued to remember the 457 UK lives that were lost that day.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed the withdrawal of most of Britain's troops from Afghanistan. He said that there could "never be a perfect moment" to order the soldiers to go home but noted that the UK military's presence in the region was never meant to be permanent.
The orders came after Lucy Aldridge, the mother of William Aldridge, who died at 18 years old in 2009, questioned the military's objectives in Afghanistan. She asked what the government was able to achieve that they sacrificed so many lives, BBC reported.
