Military faces #MeToo moment as thousands of female personnel detail abuse
Evidence of ‘bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual abuse and rape’ handed to inquiry
MPs investigating alleged abuses of power in the UK’s armed forces have been hit with a barrage of evidence from female personnel and veterans.
An “unprecedented” total of more than 4,100 current and former servicewomen have submitted written evidence to the defence sub-committee some of which detailed claims of “bullying, harassment, discrimination, sexual abuse and rape”, The Times reports.
Around 40% of the testimonies, submitted via an anonymous survey, are from serving members of the military. The inquiry is being led by Army veteran Sarah Atherton, “who is the only sitting female MP with a regular military background”, the paper adds.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As the inquiry prepared to hear the first oral evidence today, Atheron said that the “weight of evidence” was “compelling” and included numerous complaints of “endemic low-grade sexism”.
Serving members of the Armed Forces were allowed to submit evidence after Defence Secretary Ben Wallace lifted a gagging order last year.
Wallace said this week that he was “grateful to all our servicewomen who shared their stories”, which are “providing valuable insights for this review”.
The inquiry - formally known as Women in the Armed Forces: from Recruitment to Civilian Life - has also received written submissions from charities and other organisations.
Lieutenant Colonel Diane Allen, who resigned in February 2020, will be the first to give spoken evidence. Allen hit the spotlight last May when she “revealed she was part of a private outpouring of grievances aired by female officers in a closed online forum” following the abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, as Sky News reported at the time.
She told the broadcaster that she “would certainly love for the army to have its #MeToo moment and just acknowledge what happened and move on”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs.
Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Second only to a nuclear bomb' – the controversial arms Russia is using in Ukraine
The Explainer Thermobaric bombs 'capable of vaporising human bodies' have been used against Ukraine
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Welsh radar site to 'protect Britain from deep space warfare'
Under The Radar Government says site will be 'vital' for defence but opponents say it puts Wales in danger
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Are Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets too little too late?
Today's Big Question US-made aircraft are 'significant improvement' on Soviet-era weaponry but long delay and lack of trained pilots could undo advantage against Russia
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
British defence: the crisis in the Armed Forces
Talking Point Depleted military power may not be able to meet its own commitment to up defence spending to 2.5%
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Russian advance in Kharkiv prove decisive in Ukraine war?
Today's Big Question Recent gains in northeast could be 'a momentary setback' or a 'turning point', as Kyiv counts the cost of US delay
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
What would happen if World War Three started?
In depth With conflicts in Ukraine, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, the 'spark' that could ignite all-out war 'already exists'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
The issue of women and conscription
Under the radar Ukraine military adviser hints at widening draft to women, as other countries weigh defence options amid global insecurity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Growing turmoil in resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo
Under the Radar South African troops help army battle rebel groups in the world's leading cobalt producing country
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published