Exposing the culture of rape, humiliation and silence within the British military police structure.
Sky News has revealed in a documentary that a former female officer known as “Amy” has revealed a toxic, patriarchal culture within the Royal Military Police, where sexual harassment, assault and rape of female soldiers is not only ignored, but perpetrators are allowed to leave the force and live normal lives with complete impunity.
Amy, who has been in the military police for more than a decade, was one of the victims of rape by a sergeant major in her unit, who she said was “allowed to resign rather than face arrest and trial and left the force with no criminal record.” Amy said that “more than a dozen women” had made complaints against the man, but none had been successful.
The former officer explained that the attacker would enter the woman’s room, sit on their bed, force her to drive at night, and talk about sex. In one case, he violently tore off part of her clothing in public and physically assaulted her while on duty.
Another woman, who previously served as a captain in the British Army and later resigned, has a similar story. She, who goes by the alias “Katie,” who also served in Afghanistan, says she was repeatedly harassed and threatened with disciplinary action when she tried to get help from the civilian police.
“I was put in front of the sergeant and reprimanded. I was told I had no right to contact the civilian police. I was told I would be punished if I did that,” she told Sky News. “In the army, I just wanted to escape. I would hide behind tanks, among the guns, to stay safe from them,” she added. I no longer considered myself a human being; I felt like an object.”
The contradiction between the claim and reality
These narratives are published while the British government always refers to itself as a defender of women’s freedom and human rights values; however, the realities on the ground and within the structure of the country’s army present a completely different picture from the official claims.
More worryingly, despite the massive increase in cases of sexual harassment and assault in the British army, these cases are still being investigated within the military institution; a fact that human rights activists, and even some members of parliament in this country, consider to be the main factor in covering up structural corruption.
“The investigation of these crimes should be taken out of the military institution and handed over to the civilian police. As long as the army investigates itself, justice will not be served.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence has promised to create a Tri-Service Complaints Team to take harassment and discrimination cases out of the military chain of command. However, victims have described the structure as ineffective and showy.
“As long as friends are questioning friends, nothing will change,” says Amy. “We live in a patriarchal environment where women have no chance… they’ve just changed the name of the structure but the same people are going to be doing the investigations.”
There have been several high-profile cases of rape and abuse in the British military. The suicide of 19-year-old soldier Gisley Beck, who was ignored after complaining of sexual harassment, is seen as a symbol of the military system’s failure to address the rights of women in the military. Experts believe such incidents are just the tip of the iceberg of corruption hidden in the British military structure.