London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Women in UK armed forces face 'hostile environment' if they report bullying

Women in UK armed forces face 'hostile environment' if they report bullying

Army veteran Diane Allen tells MPs that women are coerced to withdraw harassment complaints
Women who serve in the armed forces find that they face “a hostile environment” when they are victims of bullying or harassment and try to complain, according to candid testimony given to a parliamentary committee on Thursday.

Diane Allen, who served for 30 years in the British army, told MPs that women were often pressed to withdraw their complaints, reflecting what she said were “mixed messages” from the defence leadership.

“I think it’s a very large problem in the current service, and I do believe women are being coerced to withdraw stories, to change their evidence and to generally be almost gaslighted to withdraw a story and not take it forward,” said Allen, who now represents dozens of female personnel and veterans.

The 30-year veteran said life in the military could be “very good, and it’s a wonderful place to work.” But she added that military service could become “a very hostile environment for those who do find themselves in a vulnerable position”.

Allen was responding to the committee’s chair, the Conservative MP Sarah Atherton, who had said evidence given to the committee suggested that “six out of 10 complaints” were not pursued “because of the chain of command”.

Similar issues were faced by former personnel, said Paula Edwards, a mental health therapist with Salute Her, which works with woman veterans. “As soon as they leave a service [the] complaint is almost forgotten about.”

Atherton chairs a special defence subcommittee that has begun gathering evidence from female veterans and current personnel, the latter able to respond after the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, lifted a gagging order last year.

A total of 4,106 personnel and veterans completed an anonymous survey, and Atherton said “interest in this subcommittee has been immense”. She said 9% of all women serving in the regular forces had already given some form of evidence.

Women make up 11% of the armed forces and 15% of the reserves, according to official statistics, but the committee heard Allen and other witnesses argue that progress towards equality across the military had stalled.

No roles were off-limits in theory, but Allen said there was a problem of inclusion, with women reporting that in male-dominated areas such as the infantry it was not uncommon to hear “overt comments saying they will never be allowed to join their regiment” and “stories of initiation ceremonies designed to embarrass women”.

She said equipment was “still designed for men and simply resized for women”. It was still a “significant problem, equipment does not fit,” she told MPs. Training regimes were not adjusted for women, they were “designed by men for men”, Allen said.

She said another issue was the effectiveness of military police, who have the power to investigate rape and sexual assault cases in the UK. “I cannot see why on the UK mainland we are allowing our service police to do this, it seems perverse and it isn’t working,” she said.

Last year Wallace rejected a review recommendation that in effect would have handed the jurisdiction of such cases over to the civilian justice system.

Allen complained about the lack of independent oversight of the British armed forces. “I believe it’s the only UK public body that has no sort of an Ofsted for defence, it has no body that is independent and can actually look into defence. Defence marks its own homework,” she said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×