WHY DO SO FEW SERVICEWOMEN REPORT EXPERIENCES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

In 2011, it was estimated that a female soldier serving in Iraq was more likely to be attacked by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The problems of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military are not new, but in recent years there has been an increase in attention to these issues, resulting in greater efforts being made to tackle them, particularly in the US military.

Now, a new army-commissioned survey has revealed that levels of sexual harassment in the British army are worryingly high. The survey of 7,000 soldiers found that almost 40 per cent of servicewomen said they had received unwanted comments of a sexual nature in the past year alone. Of the women surveyed, 39 per cent said they had received unwelcome comments about their appearance, body or sexual activities. And 33 per cent said that someone had made unwelcome attempts to talk to them about sexual matters. In some cases, the harassment escalated to physical assault, with 12 per cent of women surveyed saying that someone had made unwelcome attempts to touch them. Around one-fifth of men also reported unwanted comments about their appearance, body or sexual activities.

Army chief General Sir Nick Carter described the levels of sexual harassment as ‘totally unacceptable’, saying he was ‘disappointed by the figures’.

Since the Everyday Sexism Project was launched in 2012 to catalogue experiences of gender inequality, many women have posted about their experiences in the military: from subtle sexism, to more aggressive harassment, to assault.

One servicewoman wrote: ‘The army is working hard to stamp out sexism but some seniors still set a bad example. Every time my company parades, the Sergeant Major addresses the parade as “Gentlemen” despite there being half a dozen women in the company. Also, when there are social events we are told we may invite wives or girlfriends; husbands and boyfriends are never mentioned.’

Another said: ‘When I was in the army, the other guys referred to the only female soldier in our company as a “field mattress” who had only joined the army because she was “too ugly to get any cock” in any arena where the guys had other options. Incidentally, she finished first in the company’s 30 km march.’

One woman’s entry read: ‘I was touched without permission while on guard at night in Iraq, with a loaded weapon. In my report I wrote that I had considered using my rifle should the male have gone any further and [I] was reprimanded for this.’

Entries suggest that the problem is by no means confined to the army, nor just to the UK, with servicewomen from other branches of the military and from around the world also sharing their stories.

One woman wrote: ‘I’m a US marine, so you can imagine the barrage of sexism I deal with. Men think it’s okay to slap you on your ass when you’re in charge of them.’

Entries range from low-level sexism to more severe offences. One reads: ‘I joined the navy at sixteen. During basic training I was forced to have sex with a physical training instructor; he told me I wouldn’t pass my course unless I did. He used the same bribe to make me perform a sex act on him . . . The entire episode was swept under the carpet. After leaving basic training to commence trade training as an engineer, I was the youngest and only female in my class. The men laid bets on who could sleep with me first. It took me a while to figure out why they were being so nice.’

Many women also described how sexism can interfere with their ability to carry out their jobs: ‘I was in training, leading a combined infantry and armoured company rolling attack over three objectives. The armoured commander wouldn’t take orders from me on the radio because I am a girl.’

The British army survey suggests that reporting rates are woefully low, with only about 3 per cent of those servicewomen who were ‘very upset’ about an incident of sexual harassment making a formal written complaint. This is also borne out by the accounts submitted to Everyday Sexism, with many women apparently choosing not to report incidents because of the fear of being disbelieved, or marked out as a ‘troublemaker’: ‘One of my sergeants when I was deployed liked to grab at me . . . my butt, my thighs, or accidentally “touch” my breasts. I reported it to higher, like I was told. I expected a change. I expected something to be done . . . I was alienated. Most of my fellow soldiers would not talk to ME anymore: not my groping sergeant, me! The other females he was touching refused to come forward after they saw how I was treated. No one wants to be around the “tattletale”.’

The good news is that the issue is finally starting to receive the attention – and action – it deserves. General Carter told the BBC that while he was disappointed with the survey results, ‘they do provide me with a baseline from which I can move forward and change the army’s culture’.

He follows in the footsteps of Lieutenant General David Morrison, former chief of the Australian army, whose rousing speech and tough rhetoric about unacceptable behaviour in the Australian army went viral in 2013. Such top-down leadership will be vital to challenge an ingrained culture of sexual harassment, particularly in a traditionally male-dominated institution like the army.

Finally, the project entries also make it clear that in order to fully support our servicewomen, we need to see a shift in attitudes outside the military too:

‘Response after telling people we’re a military family: they turn to my husband and thank him for his service.’

Originally published 14 July 2015