Call for fresh evidence on experience of women in the Armed Forces

The Commons Defence Committee is calling for new written evidence on the experiences of women in the Armed Forces to find out whether there has been sufficient transformation since its last report was published.

A damning report released in 2021 revealed that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is failing to protect female personnel.

The report, Protecting Those Who Protect Us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life, suggested several recommendations which would improve the experiences of servicewomen and female veterans.

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Later this year, the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces hopes to hold a second follow-up session hearing with the MOD using the new written evidence.

Conservative MP Sarah Atherton, chair of the Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces, appealed for the new evidence in a LinkedIn post, saying: "We are pleased that the MOD has lifted restrictions on serving personnel contributing to this inquiry.

"We welcome contributions from everyone, especially serving personnel and veterans.

"Due to the sensitive nature of some of the issues this inquiry covers, confidentiality and anonymity are options for those who want to submit evidence."

Her post went on: "We hope to hear about any changes, both positive and negative, that have occurred since the publication of our report.

"We want to know what steps need to be taken next in order to ensure that women in the Armed Forces are treated with the parity and respect they deserve."

The original report, which saw around 10% of serving female personnel contribute to the inquiry, analysed bullying, harassment, discrimination (BHD) and sexual behaviours in the Armed Forces.

Just over two-thirds (64%) of female veterans and 58% of currently serving women said they had experienced BHD during their time in the military, the report said, while most of the survey's respondents stated that they did not believe the military does enough to address BHD.

Ms Atherton, back in 2021, said it "is difficult not to be moved by the stories of trauma, both emotional and physical, suffered by women at the hands of their colleagues".

The committee hopes that a few questions will be answered from the written evidence, including:

• How much change has there been in the past two years, when it comes to improving the experiences of female service personnel and/or female veterans?
• What specific changes are you aware of against the committee's initial recommendations?
• Are there areas where you hope to see more change?
• Do you see 'easy wins' for the services/MOD?
• What has helped or hindered change?

Anyone wishing to submit written evidence to the committee can do so on its website here.