Sex attacks in the military double, with more than half perpetrated by junior recruits
The number of sex attacks in the Armed Forces has doubled in the last three years with more than half perpetrated by junior ranks, The Telegraph can disclose.
Up to 180 troops were victims of sex attacks in 2020 but that number increased to 380 by December last year, according to Ministry of Defence (MoD) figures.
But the report also reveals that private soldiers and personnel of equivalent rank in the RAF and Royal Navy are responsible for more than 50 per cent of all sex attacks in the Armed Forces.
Junior ranks make up around 28 per cent of the Armed Forces but are responsible for over 52 per cent of all rapes and sexual assaults, according to the MoD’s Murder, Manslaughter and Sexual Offences in the Service Justice System annual report.
Worryingly, the report also shows that more than 14 per cent of all rapes in the Armed Forces were committed by personnel aged 20 or under.
A significant number of sexual assault victims were also some of the youngest troops serving in the Armed Forces.
Up to 50 classed as rape victims
The disclosure was described as “disgusting” by one former defence chief who said the MoD failed to understand the size of the problem of sexual assault within the military.
The report reveals that 81 personnel aged under 18 were sexually assaulted by colleagues between 2020 and 2022. A further 350 military personnel aged between 18 and 20 were sexually assaulted over the same three years.
Up to 50 of those sexually assaulted were classified as rape victims, with four under the age of 18, so were still officially classified as children.
Overall, 838 troops, aged under 18 and over 40, were sexually assaulted and 136 were raped over the three-year period.
Dozens of other troops were also victims of exposure and voyeurism.
While the majority of those assaulted were women, the report reveals that 134 male personnel were attacked. In all cases the number of assaults have surged in the last two years.
In addition to the attacks revealed by the MoD, North Yorkshire Police also said that “13 sexual offences” at the Army Foundation College were reported between July 2022 and August 2023, including nine reports of rape, two of sexual assault and two of voyeurism.
‘It happens again and again’
A recent military inquiry into the death of one teenage female soldier found that she took her own life after being subjected to sexual harassment from her boss.
Gunner Jaysley Beck was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 after experiencing “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour”, the inquiry report said.
She received more than 3,500 messages and voicemails from her boss over a two-month period.
In 2021, a parliamentary report said the UK military was failing to protect female recruits. It revealed nearly two-thirds of women in the Armed Forces had experienced bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination during their career.
Colonel Philip Ingram, a former army intelligence officer, said: “These figures are disgusting. All we hear from the Army and MoD is that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated, yet it continues to happen again and again and again.
“This shows a fundamental failure to recognise a wider issue and deal with it. It’s time the Army and Defence woke up to the fact it is continually enabling harm to be caused. What will it take for there to be real change and why aren’t senior officers being held accountable for this shocking culture?”
An MoD spokesman said: “Sexual assault or harassment has no place in the Armed Forces, and we are committed to stamping it out. All allegations are taken extremely seriously and investigated by the service police.
“We have set up an independent defence serious crime unit, created a victim witness care unit and strengthened our ability to discharge from service anyone who has committed an offence.”
