A Labour MP has made a serious claim against the British Army, stating that female service personnel are “too terrified” to make formal complaints over harassment and bullying. Madeleine Moon, who sits on the Common Defence Select Committee, cited the culture of fear that exists within the British Army as what is leading women to be fearful of the impact a complaint may have on their career.
“You get the general statement about ‘we abhor all discrimination and we are opposed to and will strike it down’, but actually there is not a clear message coming all the way down,” Moon said.
HR experts claim that female personnel face an overwhelming amount of discrimination at every level of the Army, which includes things like sexual intimidation. It is also suggested that this type of bullying is more prevalent in the Army than in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
In 2012, service complains about bullying, harassment and discrimination accounted for 43 percent of all Army allegations. This was up by 1/3 from the year before.
Moon also said she feels like there is a total sense of denial within the Army about discrimination against women. To fix this, she suggested enlisting better role models and more help lines for personnel to access in an anonymous fashion.
Under a new watchdog, military personnel will be able to make complaints against peers to an independent official from the service complaints commission.