Revealed: half of RAF women are victims of sex harassment

[ckramer]

23 January 2005

Almost half of all women serving in the Royal Air Force have been sexually harassed, according to an internal report obtained by The Independent on Sunday.

The official research, carried out last year but kept secret, indicates that more than 1,000 women are currently enduring or have suffered sexual harassment in the past 12 months.

Victims are typically harassed by two or more male servicemen of a senior rank, the survey found. Most of the victims had been groped or subjected to sexually explicit remarks or gestures, but only half of them complained.

Most worrying for service chiefs is that the survey found that sexual harassment had increased since a similar report three years ago.

It concluded that "whilst people experience unacceptable behaviour, the majority tolerate it and do not complain especially because they feel it will not be taken seriously or will affect their career".

The secret research is revealed after a week in which the conduct of the British Army has been under intense scrutiny as three soldiers face a court martial for allegedly abusing Iraqi detainees.

independent

[Blue_Tires]

1. sad

and i thought our air force was bad