![]() He wrote that he was “disappointed and appalled” by the testimonies and assured the women the issues raised were “being taken seriously and will be acted on”. The Guardian has seen a letter of response, sent by the MoD’s permanent secretary, David Williams, on 5 October. In the testimonies, which are said to be “the tip of the iceberg” and illustrative of a “current problem, not a historic one”, women described feeling “sick with fear”, “sobbing in the bathroom”, and being subjected to “intimidating” behaviour.Īccording to the letter, attempts by women at the MoD to speak out against the behaviour “are generally minimised rather than listened to, and it is common knowledge among women that complaints system is not fit for purpose”.Īs well as sexual harassment claims, the letter depicted a “male-dominated” work environment in which women were disrespected, outnumbered in meetings, and overlooked for promotions, leading to what one woman said was a “vicious cycle of men-only teams at the top of the MoD”. We also continue to encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed this kind of inexcusable behaviour, to report it immediately.” No woman should be made to feel unsafe in Defence and this behaviour will not be tolerated. The MoD said in a statement on Thursday: “We are deeply concerned by the complaints made and we are taking action to tackle the issues raised. The claim that a group of military officers kept an “Excel spreadsheet that rated women” based on “their looks and what they thought they’d be like in bed”.Ī woman who said that before an evening event, a “defence senior” asked a woman “whether anal sex was an appropriate topic for his speech”.Īn account of how a military officer “propositioned” a woman “late at night in a corridor” on an overseas military base. The accounts, which the letter said came from “senior civilian women in operational and security roles”, include:Ī woman who said she was groped at an MoD social function but was advised against complaining.Ī woman on an overseas posting who said she was “touched repeatedly on the lower back and legs by a senior military officer” but the “perpetrator went unpunished”. The accounts, the majority of which are described as “very recent”, suggest there is an abusive and discriminatory workplace culture at one of the UK government’s largest departments. Testimonies included in the letter catalogue a list of alleged incidents at both the MoD’s headquarters in London and overseas bases. ![]() “We are spoken over during meetings, we are subject to pejorative language, we receive unwanted attention and face sexual harassment, including intrusive staring, sexualised comments, running commentary about what we wear, how we look, and how we smell,” the group said.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |