UK troops to get training on consent and incel culture in bid to tackle misconduct

Lessons about misogyny and ‘harmful online influences’ will also make up part of their training, after two thirds of women in the military reported experiencing sexualised behaviour in the past year.

Ministers commissioned a poll to understand the scale of sexual harassment within the services.

The survey of serving personnel found almost a third of females were ‘touched in a way that made them feel uncomfortable’ over a 12-month period.

Just 5 per cent of males reported the same.

Almost one in 10 women also said they were ‘subjected to sexual activity which they did not consent to’.

The findings shine a harsh spotlight on the culture within the ranks of Britain’s armed forces, which a defence minister has described as “wholly unacceptable”.

Read more: Inside the British military camp training Ukrainian troops for frontline warfare

Read more: 'Lip service, gatekeeping and waste of money': Army veteran describes his experience with government's homelessness programme

Louise Sandher-Jones, the minister for veterans and people, said: "All those who choose to serve our country must be able to do so with dignity and respect.

“We commissioned the UK's first ever comprehensive military sexual harassment survey, which provides a no holds barred baseline to fully confront and address the root causes of this issue.

“As a veteran myself, this mission is deeply personal to me, and I want our military to be the best in class on this issue.

“Ministers and Chiefs are working closely together to play our part in the Government’s central mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.”

The Ministry of Defence has announced a new ‘prevention programme’ to tackle problematic behaviours.

It will initially target interventions at young recruits “to boost understanding of consent, misogyny, incel culture and harmful online influences against men and women”, the government said.

Catterick Garrison, an Army Base in Yorkshire, and Plymouth Naval Base will be the first to implement the programmes, including in training facilities for young recruits in Army Foundation College Harrogate and HMS Raleigh.

It will then be expanded to UK military personnel in Cyprus and RAF Halton in 2026 before wider rollout.

Of the people who had experienced sexualised behaviour, 29 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men said it had led them to think about leaving the service.

Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, said: “Our job in the Armed Forces is to be ready to deter, fight and win. To do that our people must feel safe – this is critical to our operational effectiveness.

“The results of the survey show just how much more I, and leaders at every level, need to do to stamp out behaviour which has no place in the UK Armed Forces. The data from the survey will help us do this and track our progress. We are committed to driving the cultural change needed.

“Over the last few years, we have established independent mechanisms for reporting the most serious incidents outside of the chain of command and launched a new Service complaints app, making it faster and simpler to report concerns. As a result, we are seeing more young women and men coming forward to raise issues.

"Our Armed Forces are rightly respected the world over but to retain this reputation we must enforce the highest standards and actively root out unacceptable behaviours. Training, education and upholding the standards we set will all play a key role in driving the change we need. This starts with the newest recruits and the work we do to instil in them the highest standards. But it is also about the education and training we provide to help our people learn and develop through their careers.

“As the world becomes more dangerous, and we enter a new era of threat, creating an environment where our people feel safe and confident enough to reach their full potential is critical to the effectiveness of our Armed Forces.”