Two-thirds of women in the Armed Forces have experienced sexualised behaviour in last year, survey finds
The new survey saw the women detailing comments they had received about their appearance, harassment, leering, and groping
Two-thirds of women serving in the British Armed Forces full time have experienced sexualised behaviour in the last year, according to a survey.
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The new survey saw the women detailing comments they had received about their appearance, harassment, leering, and groping.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) report said that its findings showed females were twice as likely to experience the behaviours as men.
In a statement alongside the survey's release, the MoD called the findings "wholly unacceptable" and said it had launched a prevention programme to address the issues raised.
The survey was launched as the MoD seeks to get a grip on disturbing experiences of women in the Armed Forces, who make up 12 per cent of total staff.
The report comes after Jaysley Beck, 19, took her own life at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 after she was relentlessly pursued by her seniors to start sexual relationships.
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Warrant Officer Michael Webber, 43, was jailed for sexual assault last month after he pinned Jaysley down and tried to kiss her.
Freedom of Information requests later revealed serious safeguarding questions about the Harrogate centre, which was rated as 'outstanding' by Ofsted.
Jaysley joined the army in 2019 aged just 16 and started her training at Harrogate before joining 47 Regiment, Royal Artillery.
More than 90,000 military personnel took part in the survey seeking to gain a clearer view on the problem of harassment in the Armed Forces.
It showed 67 per cent of full-time female personnel had encountered some kind of sexualised behaviour in the last year.
Among male personnel, the figure was 34 per cent.
Of the women who experienced the behaviour, 93 per cent said they believed the behaviour amounted to sexual harassment.
Some 42 per cent of female regulars said they had been stared or leered at. A third said they had been touched in a way that made them feel uncomfortable.
Minister for Veterans and People, Louise Sandher-Jones, said the survey results were "wholly unacceptable", describing it as a "no holds barred baseline, to fully confront and address the root causes of this issue".
"New standards in transparency and accountability are being set across our Armed Forces," she added.