Action needed: BFBS Forces News readers call for change over sexual harassment in Army
BFBS Forces News readers on Instagram have criticised a lack of action by the Army in tackling unwanted sexual behaviour after a former warrant officer was jailed for sexually harassing 19-year-old Gunner Jaysley Beck.
WO1 Michael Webber was sentenced to six months in jail and seven years on the sex offenders’ register after pinning down and attempting to kiss Gnr Beck at a training camp in August 2021.
Gnr Beck died by suicide in December the same year.
After the sentencing, we asked our community on Instagram whether they felt that the culture around the treatment of women in the military has changed. We also ask whether the Army was a safe space for women.
Many responses highlighted the gap between rhetoric and action.
"The Army prides itself on leadership and values but something is missing," one user said.
"There is a massive say do gap and the culture needs to change."
"I know over the time I served there were multiple times where women have been preyed on by male soldiers," said another.
"Whether it be abuse of power or outright wrongdoings, I have seen and reported on multiple occasions of women that have been sexually assaulted and even worse.
"Majority of the times, these issues have been swept under the carpet.
"There needs to be a drastic overhaul of the laddish culture and changes need to be made in the disciplinary actions taken against anyone that acts in a manner that is against Army policy."
Others also made suggestions for improvements to the reporting process for inappropriate conduct.
"In the current system it is easy for serious allegations to be swept under the rug," one user said.
"These types of investigations need to be taken outside of the COC and there needs to be a mechanism for troops to get immediate transfers out of unit."
There were also readers at both extremes of the spectrum with regards to perceptions of the Army. For example, one said "I think the institution genuinely wants to improve, but there is a long way to go" while another described the Army as "rotten to the core".
The discussion occurred a day before the release of the first survey that examined instances of unwanted sexual behaviour across all three services.
The MOD-commissioned piece of work found that more than two-thirds of women serving in the Armed Forces had experienced sexualised behaviour in the previous 12 months.
Around a quarter of women who decided not to tell anyone about their experience did so because they did not think anything would be done about it. A quarter also said they were worried they would be viewed as causing trouble.
Read our full coverage of the survey here.
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