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Women in military at increased risk of emotional bullying, sexual harassment and physical assault

WOMEN serving in the military face a considerable risk of emotional bullying, sexual harassment and physical assault, research has found.

Those who are younger, have held an officer’s rank or had a combat or combat support role are the most likely to have suffered such treatment, according to a study published in the BMJ Military Health journal.

Of the 750 women veterans who were surveyed, 22.5 per cent said that they had experienced sexual harassment, while 5.1 per cent recalled having been sexually assaulted.

Emotional bullying was suffered by 22.7 per cent of those women, while 3.3 per cent said that they had been physically assaulted.

There are about 16,500 women serving in the British military, making up about 11 per cent of armed forces personnel.

The study states: “Many women do not report adverse service experiences due to fear of the consequences of doing so and may continue to suffer from increased mental health distress during and after military service.

“It is essential to consider whether current reporting procedures may not provide sufficient confidentiality to encourage women to report adverse experiences and more appropriate disclosing procedures should be considered.”

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